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Kempton Saturday
FOR much of the Coral Trophy, Al Dancer (Dylan Johnston) looked set to give Sam Thomas and owner Dai Walters a double on the card. Then Forward Plan (Anthony Honeyball/Ben Godfrey) found a spurt of pace to pass three rivals from the last fence to snatch victory by a length and a quarter, with Bowtogreatness (Ben Pauling/Ben Jones) the same distance back in third having looked likely to win when looming up at the penultimate fence.
The first three hold handicap entries at Cheltenham and did their prospects no harm here, with Forward Plan - sent off at 15/2 - sure to have been more impressive but for several scruffy jumps.
He can’t afford to make mistakes in the Kim Muir, but a 3lb rise for this win underplays his talent, and this was a third consecutive career-best performance over fences, suggesting he may yet do better, with the extra two furlongs of the Kim Muir looking ideal.
Bowtogreatness is also entered in the Kim Muir, and while he looked to deliver less than promised, his rider felt he blew up when arriving with his initial challenge before staying on again, and Ben Pauling has laboured the point that the gelding takes plenty of getting fit.
He’s far from certain to make the cut for his Cheltenham target with a rating of 133 but is clearly nearing his peak and is an intriguing contender if sneaking into the weights.
Pendil Novices’ Chase
Blow Your Wad (Tom Lacey/Stan Sheppard) confirmed his liking for Kempton with a third win from as many starts at the Sunbury track in the Grade 2 Coral Pendil Novices’ Chase, proving too willing for Tahmuras (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden) in the closing stages.
A winner over track and trip at the Christmas meeting, Blow Your Wad was disappointing behind Ginny’s Destiny at Cheltenham’s Trials Day, but looked much happier back at his favoured venue as he gained a second chase win in first-time cheekpieces.
Blow Your Wad was very well supported into 13/8 favouritism, and while he looked to have a fight on his hands when Tahmuras jumped alongside at the final obstacle, he found more than that rival when push came to shove and he was a cosy if narrow winner by three-quarters of a length.
“We have run him in Grade 1s before over hurdles but he was a five-year-old taking on six-year-olds, which was probably a bit harsh on him to be fair,” said Sheppard.
“We’ve always liked him and I think he probably has to stay right-handed now because he’s won three times round here. I would say here and Sandown would be where he goes I imagine.
“He’s probably still 10lb off the top races, but with another summer he might improve again because he’s only six and there’s still plenty of room for improvement.”
Lump Sum boosts Jeriko
There were no direct clues to Cheltenham in the Grade 2 Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle, but the result could be viewed as a boost to the chances of Jeriko Du Reponet in the Supreme Novices’ next month, as the pair who chased him home in the Grade 2 Rossington Main at Doncaster fought out the finish, with 13/8 market leader Lump Sum (Sam Thomas/Sam Twiston-Davies) again coming out ahead of Fiercely Proud (Ben Pauling/Ben Jones), this time by an impressive four and a half lengths after heading that rival between the last two flights.
Idy Wood (Jamie Snowden/Gavin Sheehan) and Panjari disputed the lead in the early stages, with the former staying on again to finish third, 11 lengths behind the winner, having been outpaced before the home turn.
Sam Thomas has no Grade 1 pretentions for Lump Sum at present, with his big target in the next year being the Welsh Champion Hurdle, a contest close to the heart of owner Dai Walters.
“Lump Sum is a smashing horse,” said Thomas after this clear-cut success. “We left him out of the novice hurdles at Cheltenham, although he’s in some handicaps and could still be well handicapped, but we’ll see about going there and it’s a decision for Mr Walters and me to have a chat about in the next few weeks. There’s Aintree after that, but there’s no pressure from Mr Walters on any of the young horses.”
THE card at Kempton on Saturday featured a trio of Grade 2 novice events and has in the past been a good guide to the Cheltenham, with Triumph Hurdle winners Katarino, Snow Drop, Penzance, Soldatino and Zarkandar all prepping in the Coral Adonis Hurdle, but it has been over a decade since the last of those, and seven years since a runner at the meeting won any race at Cheltenham.
That statistic is likely to remain intact for another year, as Adonis winner Kalif Du Berlais (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden) is unlikely to head to Cheltenham, with his trainer feeling he is a Gold Cup horse for the future who needs minding.
The 10/11 favourite took time to warm to his task, and was off the bridle at the end of the back straight, but the further he went, the stronger he looked, outstaying runner-up Givemefive (Harry Derham/Paul O’Brien) after the last to win by three-quarters of a length, with the pace-setting Captain Marvellous (Jane Williams/Ciaran Gethings) a further eight and a half lengths back in third have raced a little too generously.
Kalif Du Berlais has won both his UK starts over Kempton’s sharp two miles, but needed every yard to assert his superiority here and is clearly going to be a more potent force over further in time, and it’s understandable that Nicholls is charting a long-term course with the son of St Leger winner Masked Marvel.
Confirming that he will swerve the Triumph, Nicholls said: “Kalif Du Berlais won’t go to Cheltenham as he’s had a hard race today. If we run him again this season it will be Aintree. He’s won three from three and it wouldn’t worry me if he didn’t run again.
“If he comes out of this well and we’re happy with him, he could go to Aintree. He might have to go chasing next season. He’s absolutely a smart prospect - one of the nicest we’ve had for a long time to go chasing.”
Lingfield Saturday
ONE-time Derby favourite Military Order (Charlie Appleby) ended his three-year-old season on a low note, and failed to win when returning in the Winter Derby Trial here, but he got back to winning ways when beating favourite Lord North (John and Thady Gosden/Rab Havlin) in the main event, getting to the front over a furlong out and holding the laboured challenge of the runner-up to score by a length at odds of 9/4.
With Eydon finishing lame, and the runner-up also returning from a lengthy absence, it’s easy enough to have misgivings about this form and whether Military Order is able to score at a higher level remains to be seen.
Diligent Harry (Clive Cox/John Fahy) landed the Listed Hever Stakes at Southwell (a meeting switched from Lingfield), defying a 3lb penalty for winning the Kachy Stakes on his previous outing.
The well-backed 9/4 chance was dropping back from 6 furlongs but travelled well behind leader Fine Wine. Juan Les Pins (Mick Appleby/Alistair Rawlinson) fared best of the others, with the market leader Clarendon House (Robert Cowell/Luke Morris) third, with the margins a length and two and three-quarter lengths.
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