Longsdon contemplates cross-country mission with Leopardess

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Charlie Longsdon’s popular chaser Snow Leopardess will be taken for a Cheltenham schooling session to see how she takes to the cross-country course.

The mare enjoyed a superb run of form last season, which included a brilliant round of jumping to land the Becher Chase at Aintree in December.

She found the ground too quick in the National itself and was pulled up on her return at Warwick before shaping well for a long way back over the National fences in the Becher once more.

Well fancied for the Veterans’ Final at Sandown on Saturday, she finished seventh.

Snow Leopardess (right) winning the Becher Chase last season
Snow Leopardess (right) winning the Becher Chase last season (Tim Goode/PA)

Longsdon is now considering taking her to Cheltenham for a cross-country schooling session to see what she makes of the banks and rails.

“She’s fine, she ran a funny old race and just didn’t go at all in that first circuit,” he said.

“She just didn’t show much enthusiasm in that first lap, and was then absolutely fine in the second lap when she was pulled out and got a bit of space.

“She flew along in the second circuit, she is going to go cross-country schooling at Cheltenham and we’re going to see how she takes to that, that might be a route we can think about taking with her.

“They went very quick and she looked a bit cold that first lap, she might have just taken a while to warm up, though she doesn’t normally.

“It can happen, she’s a bit older and it might have just been the way it went that day.”

Davy Russell making riding return to cover for injured Kennedy

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Davy Russell is to come out of retirement to cover for Jack Kennedy while the current Irish championship leader is on the sidelines with a broken leg.

Russell only retired last month, after riding a winner at Thurles on December 18.

The 43-year-old – who won the Grand National twice on Tiger Roll and the Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Lord Windermere – had been a key part of the riding team at Gordon Elliott’s along with Kennedy.

Davy Russell celebrates winning the Grand National with Tiger Roll
Davy Russell celebrates winning the Grand National with Tiger Roll (Mike Egerton/PA)

However, with Kennedy now out of action in the lead up to the big spring festivals, Russell has reversed his decision and will resume his career at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

In a statement issued on his behalf, Russell said: “After meeting with Gordon today, I have decided to come out of retirement and ride for the short period while Jack is on the sidelines.

“It’s only been a matter of weeks since I retired, and I actually rode more out this morning than I have in many years.

“We are a close team in Cullentra and after what happened last weekend, I want to help the team through a difficult few weeks.

“The plan is to resume riding in Fairyhouse on Saturday and Punchestown on Sunday.”

Hanlon ‘couldn’t be happier’ with stable star Hewick

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Shark Hanlon is dreaming of huge prizes in the spring with his stable star Hewick.

Hewick was one of the sport’s most popular success stories last year, winning the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown and the Galway Plate before exiting at the final fence when looking poised to land the Kerry National.

He then headed out to Far Hills in New Jersey to win the American Grand National.

The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup in March has long been booked in as the target for his seasonal return – but Hanlon also explained of equal importance will be a bid for the Randox Grand National at Aintree.

“Without a doubt he’ll go for the National, that’s my plan,” Hanlon said.

“I’m going to give him no run before the Gold Cup and the Gold Cup will put him right for the National.

Shark Hanlon's Hewick
Shark Hanlon’s Hewick (Mike Egerton/PA)

“I’m not saying he’s not going to be trained for the Gold Cup, but he’s a summer horse and he had a busy enough year last year and he wants good ground.

“He’ll go straight for the Gold Cup and the National then.”

Hewick is likely to find himself near the top of the weights at Aintree, but Hanlon notes that his weight-carrying Kerry National run was scuppered by a fall rather than by the horse folding under the 11st 12lbs burden he was allocated.

He said: “I don’t think weight bothers the horse, you go back to the Kerry National and everyone said he had no chance because he was giving a stone, a stone and a half to everything.

“He was unlucky, he fell and if it wasn’t for that he would have won. I’m not worried about weight.”

Hewick winning the Galway Plate
Hewick winning the Galway Plate (Niall Carson/PA)

Hanlon is similarly unconcerned by the step up in trip that the National represents as he feels the horse will only improve when tasked with running over a longer distance.

“The best run he had last year was the bet365 and that’s three and a half miles,” he said.

“The further he goes, the better, he’s a great cruising speed and he doesn’t stop.”

Hewick has done little other than improve throughout his career so far, but Hanlon – who will also run recent acquisition Cape Gentleman in the National – believes there is more to come and that the gelding returned from America in better condition than ever.

“We left him in America for 17 or 18 days because the weather over there was beautiful, he was out in the field every day and back in at night,” he said.

Hewick with connections at Sandown
Hewick with connections at Sandown (Nigel French/PA)

“When he came home to me he was 40 kilos heavier than he was going over there, he’s definitely come back the strongest he’s ever been.

“I couldn’t be happier, he’s been ridden out the last 10 days at home and I think he’s after improving.

“If he improves seven or eight pounds, he’s entitled to be in the Gold Cup and he’s entitled to be in the Grand National – that’s the way I’m looking at it.”

Clonmel meeting on Thursday rescheduled to Tuesday

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Clonmel’s meeting on Thursday has been cancelled due to a waterlogged track and rearranged for Tuesday.

An inspection had been called for 7.30am on race day, however following further heavy rain on Wednesday an early decision was taken at 4pm.

The meeting – due to feature the exciting Gaelic Warrior – will now take place on January 17 with entries reopened until noon on January 12.

“Following 14mm of rain since our update this morning, Clonmel is now unfit for racing due to the track being waterlogged,” said clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer.

“There is a further 10mm of rain forecast between now and race time tomorrow.

“We have had more rain than we expected at this stage and with such an unfavourable forecast, we felt it was prudent to cancel the fixture at this point rather than wait until the time of the planned inspection with no real hope of prospects improving.”

Heavily backed for the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, Gaelic Warrior just missed out on what was his debut for Willie Mullins but returned at Tramore last month where he finished miles clear at long odds on.

Impaire Et Passe set to test Festival credentials at Punchestown

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Willie Mullins will test runaway maiden winner Impaire Et Passe among Grade Two company in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday.

The five-year-old joined the Mullins stable with a six-length French bumper win under his belt and made his debut over hurdles in a Naas maiden shortly before Christmas.

Carrying the double green silks of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, he was a leisurely 18-length victor from a busy field that included 23 rivals.

A step up in class now follows in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, a race Mullins has historically dominated with horses such as Vautour, Douvan, Min and most recently Dysart Dynamo.

“I think Impaire Et Passe is the obvious candidate for the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle,” said Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father.

“He is a big scopey horse who won well at Naas the last day.

“He had been working well at home going to Naas but certainly nothing like what he showed that day and that surpassed our expectations.”

The Mullins stable have a second entrant in the race in the shape of Tax For Max, a more experienced six-year-old who will represent the same owners.

Guetapan Collonges expected to thrive for Warwick stamina test

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Charlie Longsdon’s well-related Guetapan Collonges is preparing to line up for a tilt at Warwick’s Wigley Group Classic Handicap Chase on Saturday.

The JP McManus-owned seven-year-old has been making progress as a steeplechaser, winning three of his six starts over fences and continually improving while gradually stepping up in trip.

A fall at Sedgefield in March is the only defeat of his past four runs, the most recent of which was a Warwick success over three miles and one and a half furlongs in November.

A further step up in trip now beckons for Classic Chase, a premier handicap run over three miles and five furlongs.

Stamina will come to the fore over that distance and Longsdon’s runner comes from a family in abundant supply of that trait as he is from the same bloodline as 2012 Grand National winner Neptune Collonges.

The latter has a French-trained full-sister named Saturne Collonges who in turn foaled Guetapan Collonges – making Neptune and Guetapan uncle and nephew in human terms.

“It’s a big step up in grade, but he won nicely around Warwick last time,” Longsdon said.

“Soft ground and further distance should suit him, we’re looking forward to seeing how he gets on.

“The further he goes, the better he goes, and this will be an acid test of whether or not he’s good enough.”

Guetapan Collonges’ jumping seemed to have taken a step forward when he was last seen at Warwick, but he is still relatively lightly-raced and in a field of seasoned chasers he will carry a second-from-bottom weight of just 10st 3lb.

Longsdon said: “His jumping has definitely improved so all we can do now is hope, he’s under 10st 3lb and that is definitely the right end of the handicap.”

National hero Noble Yeats being aimed at famous big-race double

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Emmet Mullins has an eye on a famous Gold Cup-Grand National double with reigning Aintree hero Noble Yeats.

Still only an eight-year-old, the bay may have been pulled up on his seasonal debut at Auteuil in October, but convincing wins in Wexford’s Listed M.W. Hickey Memorial Chase and in particular Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase have put him in the frame for the Boodles Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

A visit to Lingfield will come first as Mullins is targeting the Fleur De Lys Chase at the Winter Million meeting on Sunday week – after which all roads will lead to Cheltenham for the sport’s blue riband event.

“All going well we’re heading for Lingfield, that’s the plan at the moment,” the County Carlow trainer said.

“Maybe half the reason we’re going to Lingfield is so we don’t have to take on Willie (Mullins) and Gordon (Elliott) here. We pick and choose our races I think fairly well and try to get the most out of them.

“The Many Clouds slotted in nicely and we’ll keep tipping away without showing our hand until the day that matters.”

A Randox Grand National defence is still in the works, however, with the Robert Waley-Cohen-owned gelding aiming to emulate Golden Miller and L’Escargot as the only two horses to have won both the Gold Cup and the Grand National.

Emmet Mullins points the way at his County Carlow base
Emmet Mullins points the way at his County Carlow base (The Jockey Club)

“The Gold Cup was on the radar for this year from the get-go. It was definitely on the agenda. We spoke with the Waley-Cohens and all going well he was going to be aimed for the Gold Cup and try to come back for the Grand National afterwards,” Mullins said.

“I definitely wouldn’t rule him out of the Gold Cup. It’s a stayer’s race and I can compare him to something like Hedgehunter, who won the Grand National and was second in a Gold Cup afterwards. I think he can be there or thereabouts.

“We’re still heading for the National and I suppose after our performance in the Many Clouds in Aintree, we won’t be looked after too well in the weights, but I think a horse like him grows in that scenario and I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t fancy our chances going back again.”

Noble Yeats crossing the line at Aintree
Noble Yeats crossing the line at Aintree (Steven Paston/PA)

He added: “I hadn’t realised until I heard over the weekend that only two horses have won the Gold Cup and the Grand National. I suppose it adds to it, but I’ll be blocking that out anyway.

“Lucky for me and the horse it won’t register with us!”

Lewis looks to Festival novice events with Straw Fan Jack

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Sheila Lewis will send Straw Fan Jack straight to the Cheltenham Festival with both the Turners Novices’ Chase and the Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy on the Brecon trainer’s radar.

Straw Fan Jack has won two of his three starts over fences for owner Graham Wilson, including taking the scalp of Gordon Elliott’s Ash Tree Meadow when landing the two-mile squareintheair.com Novices’ Chase under Sean Houlihan at Cheltenham in October.

The grey then had his colours lowered by Frere D’Armes in the Fulke Walwyn Trophy at Newbury the following month, finishing a five-and-a-half-length fourth in that limited handicap, conceding weight all round in the extended two-mile contest.

Lewis, who gained fame in October 2020 when saddling a three-timer while also running a beauty salon, decided to bypass the Tingle Creek at Sandown with her eight-year-old stable star, who is as short as 40-1 with BetVictor for the Arkle and has been introduced at 66-1 with Paddy Power for the two-and-a-half-mile Turners.

Lewis said: “I think we will just go straight to Cheltenham. We will enter him in a couple of novice chases and maybe a handicap.

“He seems to run really well when he’s fresh. We will probably enter him for the Arkle. Maybe that is a big ask, I don’t know.

“He won at Ffos Las and he was an Irish pointer, so he jumps well and then we took him to Cheltenham while he was on his game and thought if there was any chance he would win at Cheltenham, it would be at that October meeting, as some of the big ones had not come out yet.

“He ran a really great race there and then we took him to Newbury and I think two miles there was a little bit quick. He probably needs further than two miles on a flatter track.

“On a stiff Cheltenham two miles, he can get outpaced, but then he comes back at them and outstays them.

“If it was good to soft or soft at Cheltenham, you’d take your chance, but he is just better on good ground.

“The Turners is probably more on the radar at the moment, but you’d look at the Arkle. I don’t think he’s good enough to beat Jonbon, but sometimes the race cuts up and just to have a runner and to be placed would be brilliant. He’s got the track experience, which helps.”

The son of Geordieland is very much the flagbearer for the yard which Lewis describes as “a work in progress”.

She laughed: “My husband said that if I have to put any more stables up for you, I’m divorcing you!”

Yet stable stalwart and fellow grey Volcano has won five times over fences and the nine-year-old heads to Warwick on Saturday for the Wigley Group Classic Handicap Chase, having been placed in two Ludlow handicaps on his most recent starts.

Volcano returns to his favourite track on Saturday
Volcano returns to his favourite track on Saturday (Tim Goode/PA)

Crucially, he has won four of his five chases at his favourite track and Lewis is praying for rain for the 115-rated son of Martaline.

“He is bottom weight and he just comes to life there,” said Lewis. “He is in great form and the race is over three miles and five (furlongs), which he has won over at Warwick before.

“We hope the rain arrives to get the benefit of being bottom weight. Soft ground may slow the others up a bit. In soft ground he is probably a 125-rated horse.”

Hukum back in training after injury break

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Coronation Cup winner Hukum will be kept in training, with a mid-summer return in mind for the lightly-raced six-year-old.

Hukum gave trainer Owen Burrows a first Group One success in June when landing the Epsom contest under Jim Crowley.

After beating Pyledriver, who had won the same prize in 2021, thoughts turned to a run in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

However, those plans were short-lived. While Pyledriver took the King George, the Shadwell-owned horse required surgery on an injury picked up during his Epsom success, having been found lame when he returned to Farncombe Down Stables in Hungerford.

The injury, which required three screws inserted into a hind leg, has now healed and Hukum is likely race on in a bid to add to a tally of nine wins from 15 starts and earnings of over £630,000.

Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold said of the six-time Group winner: “He has been back in training a while now, so as long as he stays in one piece, he will remain in training.

“There isn’t a plan. There is no point having a plan in January, as we don’t know if he will be sound in the middle of February.

“I would think he will be out from the middle of summer onwards. We need to take one step at a time with him. There is no point making a plan in case it all goes wrong.

“Hopefully we can stay on track.”

Sweeney considering the possibilities for Churchstonewarrior

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Jonathan Sweeney could send Churchstonewarrior to the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham following his creditable runner-up in Grade One company over Christmas.

The lightly-raced eight-year-old has had just three starts over fences and he has been placed second on each occasion.

Upped to three miles at Leopardstown in the Neville Hotels Novice Chase, Aidan Coleman’s mount jumped well throughout, although was no match for the winner, the Willie Mullins-trained Gaillard Du Mesnil, who scored by seven and a half lengths and now heads the market for the National Hunt Chase on March 14.

Sweeney said: “We were very happy with the run – he ran well. You couldn’t say he isn’t a Grade One horse. The winner has had an awful lot of experience.

“I suppose we had a lot of luck on the day, but that’s racing.”

There are no firm plans for the son of Mahler, although a possible return to Leopardstown for the Ladbrokes Novice Chase on February 5 is under consideration by the County Cork handler.

“He might go back to Leopardstown for the Dublin Festival. He’ll go back in trip – there is a two-mile-five-furlong race – but there are a few other options which we need to discuss.

“He came out of the race the last day well. He is not entered at Cheltenham yet, but there is a possibility he will go there. He might get an entry in the Brown Advisory, although we’d probably head to the National Hunt Chase more than the other option.

“We’ll see what the owners say. There are no hard and fast plans at the moment. We will try to progress from that.”