Clondaw Castle aiming to regain Coral Trophy crown
Clondaw Castle has some big boots to fill as he bids to become trainer Tom George’s second dual winner of the Coral Trophy at Kempton on Saturday.
The three-mile contest has a prestigious roll of honour, with the great Desert Orchid (1990), the ill-fated Gloria Victis (2000) and two Grand National heroes in Rhyme ‘N’ Reason (1988) and Rough Quest (1996) all previous winners.
Only two horses have won the race twice, with Docklands Express claiming back-to-back victories in 1991 and 1992 before George’s popular grey Nacarat struck gold in 2009 and 2012.
Nacarat also won the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby and the Aintree Bowl for the Slad-based trainer, who has high hopes for Clondaw Castle in this weekend’s feature event.
The 11-year-old was a clear-cut winner in 2021 and in his next three races he finished second in the Bowl at Aintree, third in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby and fourth in the Betfair Chase at Haydock.
He subsequently spent 14 months on the sidelines but made a promising return when second in Kempton’s Silviniaco Conti Chase in January, setting him up for a bid to regain his Kempton crown.
“He had a good comeback run. It was a nice run over what was probably an inadequate trip for him and on ground that was a bit softer than ideal,” said George.
“We know he likes the track and three miles and this has been our target. His comeback run proved he retains his ability and he’s been in great form since, so fingers crossed.
“Nacarat won it twice, so let’s hope Clondaw Castle can follow suit.”
Class on his day!
Cap Du Nord is a very nice winner of the Swinley Handicap Chase at @Ascot for @CWilliamsRacing and @jacktudor9…pic.twitter.com/JjmMfyi4s4
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) February 18, 2023
Also bidding to become a dual winner is defending champion Cap Du Nord.
Christian Williams sends the 10-year-old back into a battle just seven days after winning a valuable prize at Ascot. He carries a 5lb penalty for that success, a burden that is offset by the booking of talented Irish conditional Cian Quirke.
Williams said: “We’ve been very lucky with Cap Du Nord, I bought him off a good friend of mine and he’s looked after me. He’s been a wonderful horse from the day we got him, a great horse – he wins a big race for me every year.
“It’s wonderful prize-money and we try to support the race with a runner.”
Cap Du Nord disputes favouritism with fellow Welsh raider Annsam. The Evan Williams-trained gelding was pulled up 12 months ago and must contend with a 7lb rise in the weights for winning by 17 lengths over the course and distance on his latest appearance.
“He’s grand – he’s in great old form. He was pretty impressive the other day and we’ll have another go,” said the Llancarfan handler.
“We know he likes it round the track. He made a very bad mistake early last year – he stretched for the second and it was game over after that.
“We said before his last run that if we ran well, we wanted to try to get here.
“It’s a very competitive race, it’s full of very good horses and all we can do is have a damn good go.”
Having previously claimed the race with Gungadu (2008) and Rocky Creek (2015), champion trainer Paul Nicholls has a strong hand in his bid for a third success, with top-weight Frodon joined by Saint Calvados and Enrilo.
The admirable Frodon drops in grade after finishing third in the King George and fifth in the Cotswold Chase on his two most recent outings, as does Saint Calvados after a fourth-placed finish in the Silviniaco Conti Chase. Enrilo, meanwhile, has not completed in his last three races.
Nicholls told Betfair: “Frodon is back for more at the track where he famously won the King George VI Chase in 2020 and finished third in it last Boxing Day.
“While he is still a few pounds too high in the handicap and has to carry top-weight, you know he will always go out and perform for you and he is bound to be competitive.
“With his owner David Maxwell on the injured list, Harry Cobden gets to ride Saint Calvados for the first time since their decisive victory in the Oaksey Chase at Sandown last April.
“I thought he ran all right last time at Kempton last time on very soft going that he hated when fourth behind Pic D’Orhy. It’s the first start for Saint Calvados in a handicap for a while and he must have a big chance over three miles on the better ground that he needs these days.
“Angus Cheleda will be claiming a handy 5lb off Enrilo who has a lovely, light racing weight. He does, though, have something to prove now after an underwhelming season.”
Jacamar won at Kempton on Boxing Day last season and was victorious on his most recent appearance at Leicester. His trainer Milton Harris believes he could outrun his odds.
He said: “He’s not without a chance. He’s consistent, he ran well in a competitive race at Cheltenham before winning at Leicester and we’ve always had it in the back of our minds that he might be a three-miler.
“The ground conditions will be right for him and he seems in a really good place.
“It’s going to be hard to win, but it’s a very open race I would say.”
