Kempton Saturday

KNIGHT Salute (Milton Harris/Paddy Brennan) may not be the biggest, but he keeps delivering the goods over hurdles, and maintained his unbeaten run when justifying 15/8 favouritism in the Grade 2 Coral Adonis Juvenile Hurdle at Kempton on Saturday.

It’s likely that he would have had to pull out all the stops to withhold the late challenge of Teddy Blue (Gary/Jamie Moore), only for that rival to make a bad error at the last, but the winner jumped all the obstacles well, and he kept on strongly from the last to win by three and a quarter lengths, with Graystone (Lucy Wadham/Aidan Coleman) a similar distance back in third.

The winner was expected to face a challenge from one or more of the newcomers in the race, all of whom had shown at least useful form on the flat, but that trio failed to pose any threat, with the well-touted Pleasant Man found to have bled after pulling up.

Likeable

The winner is a thoroughly likeable sort with a good turn of foot. That will see him win more races, and he may still be underestimated in the Triumph itself, where an official rating of 140 doesn’t give him a huge amount to find with Vauban (145) and Pied Piper (144).

Bold Pic D’Orhy chisels out victory

WITH both the Paul Nicholls runners in the Adonis flopping, the top-rated Pic D’Orhy (Harry Cobden) was friendless in the betting for the Grade 2 Coral Pendil Novices’ Chase, eventually going off the 3/1 third favourite.

However, the seven-year-old produced a bold round of jumping to take the prize.

The race is summed up by what happened going to the last, where Millers Bank (Alex Hales/Kielan Woods) was challenging and apparently going best.

Long stride

Cobden saw a long stride, and his mount threw in a prodigious leap to take a length out of the second, and that scenario was maintained to the line.

Minella Drama, the 7/4 favourite, was disappointing, tending to jump to his right, and he weakened before the final fence having disputed until that point.

Pic D’Orhy was conceding 5lb to the runner-up, and was entitled to win as he did on the ratings, but this was his most likeable effort over fences to date. While he looks short of Grade 1 standard, he is sure to be well placed, with the Future Champions Novices’ Chase at Ayr next month mooted as his most likely target.

Gordon on a familiar

path with Aucunrisque

CHRIS Gordon won the Grade 2 Sky Bet Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle in 2020 with Highway One O Two after that gelding had won twice earlier in the season at lowly Plumpton.

The Winchester trainer repeated that feat with Aucunrisque, who has contested the same Plumpton races this time round.

Worthy

A handicap winner at Wincanton on his latest outing, Aucunrisque proved himself a worthy winner at this Grade 2 level by beating favourite Shallwehaveonemore (Gary/Josh Moore) by a length under an enterprising Tom Cannon ride.

The winner, well backed all day into an SP of 3/1, was more assured in his jumping than the runner-up, while Galore Desassences (Nigel Hawke/Kieran Buckley) showed improved form to grab third ahead of Iceo, less than three lengths behind the winner.

The runner-up may be slightly flattered by his wide-margin win at Sandown, while Iceo got badly outpaced before staying on again, and seems weak at present, so the form isn’t strong for the grade, and that is reflected in the winner’s revised mark of 133.

He may go to the County Hurdle, and he ought to be suited by the stiffer test at Cheltenham if making the cut for that ultra-competitive handicap.

CHRISTIAN Williams has seen his stable hit top form in the past week, and he enjoyed a Saturday to remember, and he was able to watch Win My Wings land the Eider Chase at Newcastle before turning his attention to his trio of runners in the day’s most valuable race, the Grade 3 Coral Trophy Handicap Chase.

All three performed with credit, and the Bridgend trainer gained first and second prize money, amounting to almost £118,000, as 13/2 chance Cap Du Nord (Jack Tudor) withheld the strong late challenge of Kittys Light (Brian Hughes) to prevail by two and three-quarter lengths.

Our Power (Sam Thomas/Charlie Deutsch) was five and a half lengths further back in third.

Weights

Both the winner and the second had fallen in the weights, with Cap Du Nord over a stone lower than when a creditable fifth in the race 12 months earlier, and Kittys Light just 1lb higher than when robbed of victory in the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown last spring.

They have gone up 6lb and 3lb respectively, and will remain with handicapping scope.

Neither have Cheltenham Festival entries this year, with Williams now plotting a more prosaic path to further success.