Ascot Saturday

Bowden Long Walk Hurdle (Grade 1)

CRAMBO (Fergal O’Brien/Jonathan Burke) was one of two horses at Ascot’s big pre-Christmas meeting to repeat his 2023 victory, when winning the Grade 1 Howden Long Walk Hurdle on his first run since the spring. The 9/1 shot stayed on strongly from the final hurdle to overhaul long-time leader Beauport (Nigel/Sam Twiston-Davies) and repel the late thrust of Hiddenvalley Lake (Henry de Bromhead/Darragh O’Keeffe), winning by a head and a length and a quarter in a stirring finish on a rain-lashed day at the Berkshire venue.

Beauport, winner of a handicap chase here on his latest start, looked like he might run his rivals into the ground with a bold-jumping display from the front, and he was still able to clear the final obstacle with something to spare, but he couldn’t quite cope with the finishing power of the front two, while confirming that he’s better than ever after a mixed campaign last term.

Crambo – one of a small number of horses to be retained by owner Chris Giles after a summer dispersal - has always had a fine record fresh, so it was a bold bit of placement for O’Brien to start his campaign here and, while he proved disappointing last spring, a lighter campaign this term could enable him to hold his form, and he was cut from 66/1 to 16/1 for the Stayers’ Hurdle on the back of this display. Whether he runs at Cheltenham is up in the air, however, with connections mulling over the suitability of the track after his flop in March.

Sound race

Like the winner, Hiddenvalley Lake was having his first race since the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle in April, and he ran another sound race to go down in a driving finish, while his conqueror at Aintree, Strong Leader, a well-backed favourite on the day, ran unaccountably badly to finish tailed-off in last place. The softening ground wouldn’t have helped Olly Murphy’s charge, but it’s hard to blame just the ground for such a poor performance.

Jonathan Burke was given the ride on Crambo just before last year’s contest, with previous rider Connor Brace losing out after being beaten in handicap company at Haydock, and the winning rider told ITV Racing: “He played a big part in my career, by winning here last year and in getting the job with Fergal. On paper, these staying hurdles can be funny races with no pace, but Sammy went on and I was always happy with where I was.

“All credit to Crambo. He filled up when we needed and jumped well and was very, very brave today. I’m very proud of him.”

Fergal O’Brien, clearly relieved to get another Grade 1 win after a rather quiet spell, said: “It’s been a tough time. The horses haven’t been firing; we’ve had a change of jockey - you can get it from all angles - but the horses haven’t been quite right.

“I said to Chris, the key was not running at Newbury. I knew we could get him better and come here, we knew he liked the track; there was only three weeks between the races, and I knew if we were going to come back after two bad runs and see the old Crambo, then we should come back here.

“I can only do it with the support of the owners. I’m so grateful to Chris and Jared (Sullivan) for letting me wait and he’s shown us what we wanted today.”

THERE were two premier handicaps on the Ascot card, and Victtorino (Venetia Williams/Charlie Deutsch) was another to repeat last year’s heroics, when landing the Howden Silver Cup Chase under a well-judged ride.

Held up at the rear as Threeunderthrufive, Trelawne and The Changing Man (Joe Tizzard/Sam Twiston-Davies) engaged in their own skirmish, Deutsch moved the winner up gradually and joined The Changing Man after jumping the final fence to win by half a length.

Sent off the 5/2 favourite, Victtorino caught the eye finishing off well in the Coral Gold Cup, but he’s not an easy ride and can’t be rushed, so Deutsch deserves great credit for making his win look a lot easier than it was in reality.

Proud moment for Pauling

The Ladbrokes Hurdle, worth over £70,000 to the winner, went the way of Ben Pauling’s Fiercely Proud (Kielan Woods), who dominated the finish along with the previously unbeaten Kabral du Mathan (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden).

The pair came to join leader Secret Squirrel two from home and, when that rival crashed out at the last, they were left well clear, with Fiercely Proud leading at the last, but all out to deny the strong finish of the runner-up by a head.

Fiercely Proud, a 14/1 shot, was another to catch the eye in a big handicap last time, finishing best of those who raced on the inner of the track when fifth to Burdett Road in the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham last month.

Ridden closer to the pace here, he reversed Greatwood form with runner-up Be Aware, with that rival best of the rest in third place here, albeit 17 lengths behind the front pair.

HENRY de Bromhead and Darragh O’Keeffe missed out narrowly in the big race, but the pair hit the target when 7/2 chance Jungle Boogie won the Howden Graduation Chase over two miles and five furlongs earlier on the card. The 10-year-old has made the track sparingly over the years, but ran well for a long way in the Gold Cup in March and – despite a tendency to lug right at his fences – showed that class to get the better of Fil Dor by eight lengths. The runner-up jumped across Iroko at the very first fence, causing the favourite to take an unfortunate tumble and ending the home participation in a race, where three of the quartet were trained in Ireland.

Paul Nicholls endured a frustrating day, with several of his horses running well in defeat, but there was some joy for the family, with daughter Olive winning the opening contest on her mother’s Thank You Ma’am.