Newcastle Saturday

BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle (Grade 1)

SIR Gino (Nicky Henderson/Nico de Boinville) maintained his unbeaten record over hurdles with a stylish victory in the Grade 1 BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday.

Set to go chasing until catching many an eye when making Constitution Hill look laboured in a Newbury gallop last month.

Sir Gino was rerouted to the Newcastle contest when his stablemate was sidelined by lameness, and he looked very good in disposing of some useful rivals, for all the flop of Mystical Power made his task that much easier.

Sent off at 6/5 joint-favourite with the Willie Mullins runner, Sir Gino travelled much the best throughout the contest, and produced to lead at the penultimate flight, he bounded clear under minimal pressure to beat Lump Sum (Sam Thomas/Dylan Johnson) and the pace-setting Kihavah (Adrian Keatley/Sean Bowen) by eight lengths and four and a half lengths.

The difficult decision now for Henderson is whether to revert to plan A with Sir Gino and run him next in the Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton over Christmas or to commit to a campaign aimed at the Champion Hurdle in March. The choice is complicated not only by how Constitution Hill recovers from illness and injury in the next few weeks, but also by the fact that owners Joe and Marie Donnelly also have reigning Champion State Man, as well as Anzadam, who has also thrust himself into the Champion Hurdle picture as a result of his Grade 3 win at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

Conundrum

Henderson said: “I think the first reaction is relief. We’ve not pretended we didn’t believe he was very good, and he looked it there. It throws the conundrum at us what to do next. The idea was to have gone chasing and if you see this horse jump a fence, he is absolutely breathtaking.

“There is lots of water to go under the bridge. It doesn’t matter what other horses are doing. Joe is in the lucky seat as he has got State Man as well. We don’t have to decide here and now, but it does look as if he is coming into that hurdles game.

“Does he really need to jump fences this season? It is a difficult decision. We do seriously think he is special. You think of the Sprinter Sacre’s and the Altior’s - nothing but a really dominant display is going to satisfy everybody. He did exactly that and that is where the relief is as he is as good as we thought he was.

“You have got to say watching this today you might be more inclined to stay over hurdles and leave chasing for next season, but let’s see. He is a very good jumper no matter what you put in front of him, a fence or a hurdle. He is very good.

“If we have to run both of them, we have to, as that is the rule of the jungle. We have to think practically ourselves. If I think Sir Gino can win the Arkle and Constitution Hill the Champion Hurdle and Joe Donnelly thinks State Man can win the Champion Hurdle, then we have to do that. It is a nice position to be in and it is a good headache.”

Rehearsal Chase

Venetia Williams continued her excellent run over fences when the enigmatic Frero Banbou (Ned Fox) outjumped main rival The Changing Man (Joe Tizzard/Brendan Powell) in the closing stages to win the Rehearsal Chase.

The winner looked a sitting target all the way up the straight, but better jumps at the last two fences enabled him to outbattle The Changing Man and end a frustrating sequence stretching back almost three years. Frero Banbou was returned at 17/2.

Newbury Saturday

THE Coral Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday went the way of Kandoo Kid (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden), who was providing his trainer with a fourth win in the race.

The 8/1 shot raced prominently and jumped soundly behind Broadway Boy, taking over from that rival early in the straight and battling back after being headed between the last two by the strong-travelling General En Chef, and holding the renewed challenge of the game Broadway Boy (Nigel/Sam Twiston-Davies) by a length and three-quarters.

Victtorino (Venetia Williams/Charlie Deutsch) ran on late having got detached to deny General En Chef third, beaten five and a quarter lengths in total.

Kandoo Kid had been well beaten on his only previous try at three miles but caught the eye when staying on into a place in the Topham Chase at Aintree in the spring, and he proved that he has the requisite stamina on his second attempt at a staying trip.

His only previous win over fences came over two miles and three and a half at this meeting a year ago, but while campaigned openly in handicaps last term, her remains unexposed granted a stamina test, and Nicholls is looking to the Grand National as his ultimate aim. Nicholls said: “We’ve aimed the horse at this race all season. I wasn’t going to be tempted to run him before as he is great fresh.

“He galloped here beautifully the other day, as you probably saw. I thought he would stay, and it was a great ride. It was absolutely brilliant.

“I thought when he ran in the Topham last season he was flat out all the way out and stayed on really strong. This was the ideal race for him as he loves to go left-handed, and now we can dream of the Grand National.

“I didn’t want to run him before today and set him back and get a penalty so we thought we would come straight here and have him really ready. The plan will be now to give him one more run then go to Aintree.

“Harry had always saved plenty, and his jumping was not going to let him down. That kept him going all the way up the straight, and he ended up winning with his ears pricked. I think he will be a great type for Aintree, and he has been around there once before and was brilliant; he has the Grand National written all over him so that is what we will train him for.

Gerry Fielden Hurdle

The Gerry Fielden Hurdle, run as the Coral Racing Club Intermediate Handicap Hurdle, went to the resurgent Tom Symonds, who saddled Navajo Indy (Gavin Sheehan) to get the better of the returning Queens Gamble (Harry Derham/Jonathan Burke) to win by a length and a half at odds of 15/2.

The winner was making his handicap debut off 120 and is likely to do better still having now won his last three over timber, but Queen’s Gamble caught the eye running on well having conceded first run to the winner.

She may not be one for the winter months given her need for good ground but remains an exciting prospect.

JOHN McConnell struck again with his raiders on British soil on Sunday when Camberwell (Ben Harvey) landed the bumper at Carlisle at odds of 8/1 in the colours of the Stone and McNeill families. The winner is out of Castlekelly Girl, an unraced full-sister to top-class performer Black Jack Ketchum, who won the Spa Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree in 2006.