Newbury Saturday

Betfair Denman Chase (Grade 2)

NEWBURY staged a trio of informative contests on Saturday, with Gold Cup and Champion Chase clues offered up on a card which survived a weather scare but produced ground on the testing side all the same.

Star of the show was the enigmatic Shishkin (Nicky Henderson/Nico de Boinville) who laid his claim to Gold Cup honours by taking the Grade 2 Denman Chase at odds of 8/11.

Shishkin had refused to set off in the 1965 Chase at Ascot on his return but looked back to his best until an unfortunate unseat in the King George when in front and seemingly travelling best. He didn’t travel with quite the same gusto in the Denman Chase, but warmed to the task as the race wore on and joined the pace-setting Protektorat three fences from home before easing clear to win by four and a half lengths from Hitman (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden) who just held the renewed effort of Protektorat for second having travelled smoothly.

“The ground wasn’t anything like I thought it would be,” said a relieved Nicky Henderson. “I was rather hesitant, but he had to run, but the ground wasn’t that bad, and Newbury have done a great job. That is actually his first completed run since Aintree last year, he had a good blow there and Nico thought it would do him a lot of good.”

Golden plan

Confirming Shishkin as an intended Gold Cup runner, his trainer continued: “You could wait for Aintree, but no, that’s where we are and that’s what he is. I don’t think three and a quarter is going to frighten him and hopefully we have the starting bug out of our head. He was perfect there and we’re in control of him now.

“He’s behaving our way, not his. He’s like that, he’s a good character. Ascot was probably his fault, but Kempton certainly wasn’t, unless you go and kick yourself in the leg on purpose.

“You have to be impressed with Galopin Des Champs, but after that I think there is an opening, and the Gold Cup is the Gold Cup – you have got to give it a go. It looked like he was going to win the King George and that would have put him in the picture. But he’s won today and that definitely puts him in the picture – let’s go!”

Betfair Exchange Game Spirit Chase (Grade 2)

DISAPPOINTING when seeming to resent hold-up tactics in a falsely run race for the Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kemptin last month, Edwardstone (Alan King/Tom Cannon) bounced back to his best under a front-running ride to run out a facile winner of the Grade 2 Betfair Exchange Game Spirit Chase.

The 11/10 favourite made all of the running in the four-runner contest and never looked in a moment’s danger as he jumped boldly and was left a long way clear when nearest challenger Boothill – already struggling to close the gap - fell at the third last. That allowed Edwardstone to stroll home by 40 lengths from Funambule Sivola (Venetia Williams/Charlie Deutsch) who was the only other finisher after Amarillo Sky went lame on the home turn.

Regarding the change of tactics, King said: “It’s been the plan for some time. I thought after Kempton when we disappointed him over two and a half and kept bringing him back, we would come here and pop out and try that.

Back to form

“He was racing within himself, and I think Tom was happy and able to get a breather in coming to the cross-fence, and away he went again. It has given me an awful lot of satisfaction.

“As long as he comes out of this all right, he will go for the Queen Mother, although I have huge respect for both Jonbon and El Fabiolo. Jonbon has beaten us twice this season and Willie’s horse looked awfully good last week.

“It’s exciting and I think we’re in the mix now, hopefully. Those tactics worked today but might not be the thing to do at Cheltenham, but we will worry about that nearer the time. I’ve gone back to the old routine of three times up the hill on a work morning and we’ve just got them that bit fitter I think – we’ve drilled these horses the last few weeks. It’s how I used to do it. Voy Por [Ustedes] and My Way [De Solzen] all used to do three, and I think the results are speaking for themselves. Let’s hope it continues.”

Betfair Hurdle

IBERICO Lord provided a double on the card for Nicky Henderson and Nico de Boinville in the Betfair Hurdle, the 11/2 shot bouncing back to form after disappointing at Ascot before Christmas having won the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham in November.

Always in a prominent position, Iberico Lord kept on well in the home straight to give Henderson his sixth winner in the race which was previously run as the Tote Gold Trophy. L’Eau Du Sud (Dan/Harry Skelton) led at the last, but Iberico Lord found plenty when asked to overhaul that rival to win by two and a quarter lengths, with Go Dante, and the winner’s stablemate, Doddiethegreat, filling the other places. The winner is likely to go to Cheltenham for the County Hurdle.

“I don’t know what happened at Ascot and I can’t blame the ground. We got lucky that Luccia was in there to pick up Iberico’s bits,” said Henderson. “I said to Nico last weekend when he was off, ‘why don’t you have a little think what you would like to ride in the Betfair’ and he said as long as it is soft it will be Iberico Lord – which was a brave thing to say after the last run.”

Rest of the card

THERE were other notable performances on the card at Newwbury, with novice hurdle winner Making Headway likely to be given an entry in the Coral Cup according to owner Malcolm Jones, who once had a significant interest in Pridwell, the horse who famously beat Istabraq in the Aintree Hurdle.

Making Headway made all to win over two miles on Saturday, but the Oliver Greenall/Josh Guerriero inmate will be better over further, although whether he gets into a Cheltenham handicap is in the balance with the assessor leaving him on a mark of 129 after this workmanlike win. Makin’yourmindup took the 3m novices’ handicap chase for Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden, but is set to bypass Cheltenham and Aintree as this big, backward type is still thought to need more time. Also set to miss Cheltenham is listed bumper winner Royal Infantry.

The five-year-old impressed in beating Noahsgreatrainbow and I’m A Lumberjack, but Dan Skelton feels he is best kept to flat tracks for the time being, with Aintree pencilled in for him. Stablemate Let It Rain was instead nominated as the yard’s main hope in the Weatherby’s Champion Bumper and is clearly held in the highest regard by her trainer.