Doncaster Saturday

Kameko Futurity Trophy (Group 1)

ANCIENT Wisdom (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) stayed better than his rivals to justify favouritism in the Group 1 Kameko Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster last Saturday, in a race he was supplemented for after landing the Group 3 Autumn Stakes at Newmarket a fortnight earlier.

That proved an inspired move, as Ancient Wisdom was providing Appleby a first Group 1 win in Britain since Modern Games won the Lockinge back in May.

The 5/4 market leader was soon in front, but lost the lead when Devil’s Point and Dancing Gemini stepped up the pace after halfway, and he briefly looked likely to get outpaced, but conditions put stamina at a premium – as the leaders began to tread water with over a furlong to run, the son of Dubawi ranged up again and drew away to beat Devil’s Point (David Menuisier/Oisin Murphy) by a length and three quarters, with God’s Window (John and Thady Gosden/Kieran Shoemark) plugging on to grab third, a further head behind.

Faded

Aidan O’Brien’s Diego Velazquez faded from the furlong pole having held every chance, and was perhaps unsuited by the heavy ground, and the race was delayed by 15 minutes after stablemate and putative pacemaker Battle Cry reared in the stalls and fell backwards, and the trainer felt that Diego Velasquez failed to give his running after being upset by that incident.

Alex Merriam, Charlie Appleby’s assistant, said: “Charlie purposely gave him a break through the summer to come back for the autumn stakes. He was very pleased with the way he came out of that and he showed he handled the soft ground so I think Charlie just thought why not give him a shot? I think we were expecting to follow the Aidan O’Brien horse, so it was slightly plan B to make the running, but Will gave him a great ride. They got racing a long way out, but Will didn’t panic, he said it took him a while to get through the gears, but once he got rolling, he saw it out well.”

Cheltenham Saturday

IT was a birthday to remember for Henry de Bromhead, who saddled Dancing On My Own (Rachael Blackmore) and Whacker Clan (Darragh O’Keeffe) to win the two handicap chases on the Cheltenham Saturday card for a 194/1 double.

Dancing On My Own held every chance when left clear by the last-fence fall of Haddex Des Obeaux in the opener, adding to his victory in the Red Rum Chase at Aintree in April and causing his trainer to think about stepping up in class.

“Let’s see what the handicapper thinks,” said de Bromhead. “But he could come back for the Shloer maybe, we might need to look at conditions chases as he’s boxing up there.”

Blackmore was looking for a double for the yard on Amirite in the Epic Jumps Season At William Hill Handicap Chase, but it was the O’Keeffe on the lesser-fancied Whacker Clan who took the contest with a fine display of jumping from the front, the gelding finding extra when challenged from the last by the strong-travelling Twig, to win by three lengths.

Porter power

Flooring Porter (Gavin Cromwell/Keith Donoghue) kept up the excellent record for Irish-trained horses on the weekend, scoring on his chasing debut with the minimum of fuss despite drifting markedly in the betting. The dual Stayers’ Hurdle winner made nearly all the running in the William Hill Lengthen Your Odds Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham, jumping well on the whole, bar misjudging one of the open ditches, to get the better of the penalised Broadway Boy by two and a half lengths. He was returned at 6/4 favourite having been long odds-on when the market opened.

“I know he was ahead of the others on his rating and that he’s still a high-profile horse, but he’s not very big, which made the way he jumped so pleasing,” said a satisfied trainer after this win. “It was a case of seeing how we got on today and then we will map a course. He will have to step up plenty, but obviously has the scope to with his hurdle rating.”

Cromwell looked likely to complete a double when Antrim Coast led on the run-in in the three-mile novice hurdle, but Butch (Olly Murphy/Sean Bowen), who had cut out much of the running, rallied gamely to get back up to win by a neck. The winner is no longer eligible for novices having won in March, but could make his mark in handicaps, with a new mark of 135 (up 6lb) not overly harsh on this evidence.

Kim Bailey sent out a likeable sort in The Kemble Brewery to defy a penalty in the bumper under David Bass. A scopey sort, he looks a good prospect for the future, and will benefit from a longer trip when sent hurdling.

The Masterson Holdings Hurdle for four-year-olds was dominated by Blueking d’Ooroux (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden), who was another very uneasy favourite in the betting, but defied the drift out to 5/2 with an easy two-length win over Jilaijone. The winner was entitled to win as easily as he did on the official ratings, but still impressed with how little effort was required to put the race to bed, and he was inclined to idle in front, which disguised his superiority.

Aintree Sunday

RYAN Potter gained a first blacktype success as a trainer when Jetoile (Daryl Jacob) sprung a 25/1 shock in the Old Roan Limited Handicap Chase at Aintree on Sunday.

Second to Constitution Hill in the Tolworth Hurdle as a novice, the son of Jeremy didn’t make a seamless transition to fences last term but ended the season with a couple of handicap victories at Chepstow and completed his hat-trick in a race rather spoiled by the omission of all three fences in the home straight.

Minella Drama (Donald McCain/Brian Hughes) made most of the running and kicked for home early in the home straight with nothing left to jump. He kept on well but was unable to withhold the strong challenge of the winner, and the margin of victory for Jetoile was a length and three quarters; Al Dancer (Sam Thomas/Charlie Deutsch) kept on well after losing his pitch to finish third, four and a half lengths adrift of the game winner.

Favourite Hitman proved a big disappointment in finishing last, while the long-absent My Drogo was well supported but looked rusty on his first start since December 2021.

Jetoile has been pencilled in for the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon next month, although the winning handler is hoping that he may still have some scope for handicaps, with the December Gold Cup at Cheltenham a possibility if the handicapper doesn’t overreact.

Potter said: “At the start of last season we thought he was going to be one of the top novice chasers in the country. He slipped at Cheltenham and he lost his confidence and it took him until the end of season to get it back.

“I’m under no illusions that a lot of these big yards will be using this race as a stepping stone, but I had him ready for today as I felt it was a great opportunity so I had him fit.”