Thompson would have no qualms with A Plus Tard heading straight to Cheltenham

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Cheveley Park Stud director Richard Thompson insists he would be “very comfortable” if A Plus Tard were to defend his Cheltenham Gold Cup crown without the aid of another run.

Henry de Bromhead’s charge was a brilliant winner of the Prestbury Park blue riband last season, but little has gone right for him since.

The nine-year-old was found to be under the weather after being pulled up when bidding for back-to-back wins in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November and was withdrawn on the morning of last month’s Savills Chase at Leopardstown after he was found to have knocked a joint.

“We flew over for the Savills Chase and it was hard to take in the moment, but you’ve got to do right by the horse and there was obviously no way we were willing to risk him,” said Thompson.

“His season has been a bit flat so far, but we very much hope he’s back on course for Cheltenham.”

A return to Leopardstown for next month’s Irish Gold Cup is a possibility – but while a final decision will rest with De Bromhead, Thompson is favouring heading straight to the Cotswolds in March.

He added: “I don’t think it was a serious problem at all really, that was the word I got, so we’ll see where he is. He might run in the Irish Gold Cup, but that’s 50-50 I think.

“I’d probably rather on balance go straight to Cheltenham, but I’ll leave it to Henry. If he thinks he should get another run into him, then of course it’s his decision.

“I’d be very comfortable not having a run before Cheltenham, that would be my personal view for what it’s worth.”

Richard Thompson (right) with A Plus Tard at Haydock
Richard Thompson (right) with A Plus Tard at Haydock (Simon Marper/PA)

It has been a largely disappointing campaign for Cheveley Park so far, with dual Ryanair Chase winner Allaho and Sir Gerhard both failing to make it the track to date.

Thompson, however, is philosophical, saying: “Last year we won nine Grade Ones, including three at Cheltenham and the Gold Cup. It was never going to last that type of success – it’s impossible.”

A Plus Tard’s stablemate Envoi Allen provided the team with another top-level success in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal in October, but subsequently finished last in the King George at Kempton.

While plans for the nine-year-old are fluid, Thompson raised the possibility of sidestepping in Cheltenham in favour of a spring appearance at Aintree.

He said: “He made a mistake and nearly unseated Rachael (Blackmore) early on in the King George and never got into the race.

“The ground was tacky and he came back tired and a bit stiff. There was never a time when you thought he had a chance of being in the shake-up, that was the disappointing thing.

“He beat Conflated and Kemboy at Down Royal, who were first and second in the Savills Chase.

“We might even miss Cheltenham with him – we could go to Aintree instead. We could run him before Cheltenham. The Irish Gold Cup is an option for him as well, of course.”

Allaho and Paul Townend winning a second Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham
Allaho and Paul Townend winning a second Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham (Mike Egerton/PA)

Thompson went on to provide an update on Allaho’s well being, with hopes high that he will be fit enough to bid for a third Ryanair Chase in little over nine weeks’ time.

“I think he’s in good shape and I think Willie (Mullins) is looking to go straight to Cheltenham with him. At the moment that’s the plan,” Thompson added.

“He’s very much on course to go to Cheltenham. If he can go there having a chance of winning the Ryanair for a third time, that would be a hell of an achievement.”

Beep Beep Burrow all set for Doncaster debut

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Beep Beep Burrow will make his track debut at Doncaster on Tuesday for his namesake, former rugby league star Rob Burrow.

The gelding, who is trained by Jedd O’Keeffe, is owned by the Good Racing Company Ltd and will be campaigned to raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, a condition Burrow was diagnosed with in 2019.

Burrow earned himself the nickname ‘Beep Beep Burrow’ during his time at Leeds Rhinos and it has been transferred to the horse, who will continue the work started by former O’Keeffe inmate Burrow Seven – retired due to injury in November after a handful of promising runs.

Beep Beep Burrow
Beep Beep Burrow (The Good Racing Co)

Beep Beep Burrow, by Malinas and out of Ballygambon Girl, will contest the Good Luck “Beep Beep Burrow” Open Maiden National Hunt Flat Race on Town Moor as Burrow and his family head to South Yorkshire to cheer him on.

“Beep Beep Burrow is such an exciting horse and we’re all hoping he lives up to his name,” said Burrow.

“We’re very much looking forward to his debut in Doncaster where he’ll get his chance to show people just what he can do on the racecourse.”

Flooring Porter taking direct path for Stayers’ Hurdle defence

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Flooring Porter will head straight to the Cheltenham Festival, with Gavin Cromwell retaining plenty of faith in his stable star ahead of his bid for a third successive Stayers’ Hurdle.

Danny Mullins expertly steered the enigmatic son of Yeats to glory in the Paddy Power-backed Grade One in both 2021 and 2022 and Flooring Porter is the 5-1 favourite with the sponsors to defend the title once again and join Big Buck’s and Inglis Drever in the select band of horses to win the race three or more times.

However, he will head to Prestbury Park without a win to his name this season, having followed up a somewhat below-par reappearance at Navan by finishing fourth, beaten just under four lengths, in Jack de Bromhead Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown.

The eight-year-old has headed straight to the Festival having finished first and second in that Grade One event previously and Cromwell is keen to follow the same route, certain his charge will once again be a key figure in Cheltenham’s Thursday feature if taking a step forward.

“He’s fine and we will try the same again, straight there is the plan,” said Cromwell.

Reflecting on his Christmas Hurdle run, Cromwell added: “I suppose we didn’t get the result we were looking for, but he didn’t run a bad race. We were hoping he would have run a bit better, but he stayed galloping at the line.

“I suppose possibly Danny didn’t go fast enough, but it wasn’t a terrible run and if he can step forward from that we can be competitive at Cheltenham.

“It’s all about Cheltenham.”

Leg fracture confirmed for Jack Kennedy

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Jack Kennedy looks set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines following confirmation he suffered a fractured leg in a fall at Naas on Sunday.

Now very much the number one jockey for Gordon Elliott following the recent retirement of Davy Russell, the 23-year-old was riding for his boss aboard Top Bandit when the pair came to grief at the fourth fence in the Rathmore Stud Irish EBF Novice Chase won by Appreciate It.

Top Bandit was unfortunately fatally injured in the incident and Kennedy was stretchered off the track and transferred to Tallaght Hospital for further assessment.

Jack Kennedy (second right) after winning last month's Savills Chase at Leopardstown on Conflated
Jack Kennedy (second right) after winning last month’s Savills Chase at Leopardstown on Conflated (Niall Carson/PA)

Elliott said later in the afternoon the injury “didn’t look good” and following X-rays, his agent Kevin O’Ryan has confirmed a fracture has been discovered.

He said: “It looks like it’s a fracture of his lower leg and he’ll go and see a surgeon in a couple of days.

“It’s a big blow, but it could always be worse.”

Supporters of Kennedy will be heartened by the fact he returned to Naas on Monday morning to watch some of Elliott’s youngsters being put through their paces.

However, whether he will be fit to ride at the Cheltenham Festival in just over nine weeks remains to be seen.

When asked how long he felt Kennedy will be on the sidelines for, O’Ryan added: “How long is a piece of string? Everybody heals differently.

“He’ll be doing his damnedest to be back as quickly as possible, but how long that will be, nobody knows.”

Gethings hoping Chepstow double can spark more success

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Ciaran Gethings was the man to follow at Chepstow on Sunday, with the jockey hoping a double on the card aboard Galice Macalo and Moonlighter will kick start his season.

Gethings first got on the scoresheet aboard Jane Williams’ Galice Macalo in the Best Odds Guaranteed At Vickers.Bet Everyday Mares’ Handicap Hurdle.

The jockey has now ridden the seven-year-old in her last four outings and was confident a switch back to hurdles would see the 3-1 favourite at her best.

Warwick Races – October 1st 2020
Galice Macalo, here winning at Warwick, made a welcome return to the winner’s enclosure under Ciaran Gethings at Chepstow on Sunday (PA)

“I quite fancied her,” he said. “She’s not quite a natural chaser, she’s a little bit careful over her jumps. So we said last time we would step her back over hurdles and she was much happier over them and won well.

“She was down to a good mark and she was a really classy mare in her day, so it was good to get her head back in front and also get a winner for Jane which is nice.”

It took just 30 minutes for Gethings to add to his tally as the 10-year-old Moonlighter showed plenty of guts to rally once headed and get off the mark for trainer Kim Bailey in the Go Racing With Vickers.Bet Handicap Chase.

He continued: “He’s not the easiest and there is a lot that could be said for his jumping sometimes, but I’ve done quite a bit of schooling with him at home.

“He hasn’t ran bad for Kim the last twice, but I think the wind operation helped him breath and he wasn’t panicking as much.

Moonlighter, here winning at Sandown, got on the scoresheet for the first time since switching to Kim Bailey at Chepstow on Sunday
Moonlighter, here winning at Sandown, got on the scoresheet for the first time since switching to Kim Bailey at Chepstow on Sunday (Alan Crowhurst/PA)

“He jumped brilliantly today and he is so hardy and so genuine as well – he’s had a few tumbles and it obviously doesn’t knock him. He got into a battle after the last and stuck his head out.”

The two victories took the rider up to 16 for the current campaign and with a first double of the season in the bag, he is hoping more opportunities present themselves in a campaign hindered by poor weather.

“I’m probably a little bit slow on numbers this year, but getting two on the board takes you back up the list a bit,” said Gethings.

“It’s just been a quieter year through weather and abandonments, so I’m a little down on rides, but hopefully I’ll be able to get near mid 20 winners again this year – that is always the target.”

Elsewhere on the card, Jonjo O’Neill Jr gave his father’s Monbeg Genius (5-4 favourite) a cute ride to follow up a wide-margin win at Newcastle last month with another five-length success in the Vickers.Bet Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.

Waterlogging claims Leicester’s Wednesday card

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Leicester have abandoned their meeting on Wednesday due to waterlogging and areas of false ground.

A pre-Christmas cold snap saw plenty of racing cancelled last month, but now it appears to be the persistent wet weather which is causing tracks problems as the jumps season heads into the second half of the campaign.

The East Midlands venue was set to host a six-race card with the feature race the Listed Kube – Leicester’s Premier Events Venue Mares’ Chase over two miles.

But with heavy rain forecast for Tuesday and parts of the track already waterlogged, an inspection was called for 3pm on Sunday, with the decision made to abandon 72 hours in advance of the fixture.

Clerk of the course Jimmy Stevenson said: “We were heavy ground in the middle of last week and have been heavy ground since we raced on December 28.

“Obviously we couldn’t take much more rain and we’ve had 18 millimetres in the last three days, which has got into the ground and created waterlogging and some false ground.

“The forecast is not much better unfortunately and there’s a fair bit of rain to come yet, so we’ve been left with no choice really.”

Bangor-On-Dee racecourse will inspect on Monday ahead of their meeting on Thursday
Bangor-On-Dee racecourse will inspect on Monday ahead of their meeting on Thursday (Simon Marper/PA)

The situation looks just as bleak at Bangor ahead of their meeting on Thursday with both the hurdles and chase track currently unraceable.

There are areas of standing water which, due to height of river, are unable to drain and with further rain forecast throughout the week, an inspection has been called for 10am on Monday.

Elliott expresses layoff concerns for injured Kennedy

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Gordon Elliott fears stable jockey Jack Kennedy will be out of action for the “foreseeable future” after suffering a leg injury in a fall at Naas on Sunday.

While firmly established as one of Ireland’s leading jockeys, the 23-year-old has suffered more than his fair share of injury setbacks, including previous breaks to both legs.

Kennedy is now Elliott’s number one rider following the recent retirement of Davy Russell and was in action for his boss aboard Top Bandit in the Rathmore Stud Irish EBF Novice Chase.

The pair came to grief at the fourth fence with Top Bandit fatally injured in the incident, while Kennedy was transferred to Tallaght Hospital for further assessment.

The severity of Kennedy’s injury is yet to be confirmed, but Elliott told Racing TV: “It didn’t look good. I went down to the fence when he got the fall and he looked pretty sore.

“He has a bit of a bump on his lower left leg. He’s gone for X-rays and we’ll hear later on, but I didn’t like what I saw.

“We’re not going to have (him) for the foreseeable future from what I’ve seen, not unless there’s a miracle.”

The injury looks set to be a major blow to Kennedy’s hopes of being crowned champion jockey for the first time. He currently holds an 18-winner lead over reigning champion Paul Townend.

It also threatens his participation at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Jack Kennedy (second right) after winning the Savills Chase at Leopardstown on Conflated
Jack Kennedy (second right) after winning the Savills Chase at Leopardstown on Conflated (Niall Carson/PA)

“We’ll see how he is and see what the doctors say. Obviously we’ve eight weeks to Cheltenham and it’s not ideal,” said Elliott.

“He got a terrible fall there – he just hasn’t been getting the rub of the green.

“It looked like he was in pole position to be champion jockey. If it’s not going to happen this year, hopefully it will happen sometime for him.”

Asked whether Kennedy’s expected absence gives some of his other riders an opportunity, Elliott added: “It looks like it, they are going to have to take it with both hands. It’s their chance now to step up.

“I’ve got Jordan (Gainford), I’ve got Sam (Ewing), Denis O’Regan is in a few days a week and a couple of other jockeys as well, so they’re all going to get their chances.”

Hosie eyeing Cheltenham return for Rock My Way

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Rock My Way is likely to return to Cheltenham on Festival Trials Day following his promising debut at Prestbury Park on New Year’s Day.

Recruited by owner/trainer Syd Hosie for £90,000 in November after winning a Castletown-Geoghegan point-to-point the previous month, the five-year-old produced an eye-catching display on his Rules bow.

Sent off a 66-1 outsider for the Ballymore Maiden Hurdle over an extended two and a half miles, the son of Getaway made a mockery of those long odds to press Nigel Twiston-Davies’ 5-4 favourite Weveallbeencaught all the way to the line.

With the winner well-regarded by connections and the front two pulling over 20 lengths clear of the rest of the field, Hosie was delighted to see his confidence in Rock My Way justified.

The Dorset-based handler is now hoping his charge can book his place in the Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival by coming through his next assignment in the Grade Two Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle on January 28 with flying colours.

“We were quite hopeful he would run a nice race, that’s why he went there,” said Hosie. “Sometimes when picking a race like that you think you could be in the wrong place, but he proved we weren’t, so that was good.

“When you get a nice one, you just have to look after them and we’re just making a plan for him. Tom (Scudamore) liked him so that is good news.

“There is the Ballymore race at the end of the month at Cheltenham. It is never normally that strong a race as people have already had their run or don’t want to run. We may as well stick to that sort of company and if he can be competitive there, we can go up in trip for the Albert Bartlett.”

Hosie also feels there should be more to come from a horse he believes has plenty of star quality.

He added: “He’s a big lad and scopey as well. He will definitely be the best looking horse we’ve had here and when he turned up, you could see he was just a bit of a different class.

“He just gallops and gallops at home and I did think it might almost be a bit sharp for him on debut. He just bumped into a good one and I guess you could think we will go where they go because we think ours is the same sort of quality as Nigel’s.

“We didn’t do a lot with him before the race to be honest. We bought him at Cheltenham in November, brought him back home and didn’t do an awful lot with him. I just thought he looks fresh, he was really well at home, so let’s run him. Now he’s gone and done that, we know we have something to work with. Hopefully look out on January 28.”

The Sandhills Farm handler also provided an update Lieutenant Rocco ahead of his outing at Taunton on Monday.

The eight-year-old won twice as a novice hurdler when trained by Colin Tizzard in his formative years, while he added a novice chase victory under the stewardship of Nick Mitchell in 2021.

Lieutenant Rocco is set to run at Taunton on Monday
Lieutenant Rocco is set to run at Taunton on Monday (PA)

The Shirocco gelding will now attempt to score for the first time with Hosie as trainer in the Stables Business Park Handicap Hurdle.

“He’s coming along nicely and is going to have a blast out at Taunton on Monday just to get his fitness back,” said the Sherborne trainer.

“He’s had his problems but we’ve got him back and now he’s getting older, it just takes longer to get him fit. He’s a big, big horse – we feed him as much as he wants but then we have to train it off!

“It would be nice to get a win into him and I’ve never trained him to win myself.

“He probably had hard races as a novice chaser. If you look at his form, he’s finished ahead of Chantry House and just behind Fusil Raffles at Cheltenham and he was not far behind Protektorat in the Dipper when the race was held at Wincanton. The ability is in there, it is just eking it all out.

“We’re looking forward to running him and I would love to get him back to Cheltenham and try to get him back there for the Ultima. But he needs to probably go up a few pounds now.”

Champ Kiely makes all for Grade One gold

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Champ Kiely led from pillar-to-post to provide Willie Mullins with a ninth victory in the Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle.

The seven-year-old was one of two runners for the champion trainer in the Grade One contest, with the previously unbeaten Grangeclare West the apparent first string as the 15-8 favourite.

Champ Kiely won a Limerick bumper, a Galway maiden hurdle and Grade Three at Tipperary on his first three starts under Rules, but could only finish fourth as the 10-11 favourite for the Royal Bond at Fairyhouse last month and was a 100-30 chance stepping back up in distance.

As is often the case, Danny Mullins got his fractions spot-on in front and Champ Kiely answered his every call in the straight to see off Royal Bond runner-up Irish Point by two and a quarter lengths.

Coral halved Champ Kiely’s odds for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham to 8-1 from 16-1.

“It was a good performance. I got a great feel off this fellow in Tipperary,” said the winning rider.

“The Royal Bond was a bit of a messy race, he was only beaten four and a bit lengths. I believed he had something like that in him, which is easy to say but he’s gone and proved it.

“He’s won over further so the trip was never going to be an issue.”

Grangeclare West was ultimately disappointing in fifth place.

Danny Mullins steered Champ Kiely to victory
Danny Mullins steered Champ Kiely to victory (Tim Goode/PA)

Asked if he was surprised by the finishing order, Mullins’ assistant David Casey said: “Not really – they are two very good horses in their own right.

“I’d say tactically the race didn’t work for Champ Kiely in Fairyhouse. We’re back to what he’s good at today and I’d say the step up in trip was a help as well, and soft ground.

“It all fell right and Danny said he was very happy with him, he gave him a great ride.”

Of Grangeclare West, he added: “I haven’t spoken to Paul yet, it looked like he travelled all right and didn’t seem to get home for whatever reason.

“I’ll speak to Paul and we’ll get him checked out and see.”

Jack Kennedy taken to hospital following Naas fall

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Jack Kennedy was taken to hospital after suffering a leg injury in a fall at Naas on Sunday.

The 23-year-old is now very much first jockey to Gordon Elliott following the recent retirement of Davy Russell and was riding for his boss aboard Top Bandit in the Rathmore Stud Irish EBF Novice Chase.

The pair came to grief at the fourth fence with Top Bandit fatally injured in the incident, while Kennedy – who has suffered more than his fair share of injury setbacks – missed the rest of his rides.

Dr Jennifer Pugh of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board said: “Jack Kennedy is being transferred to Tallaght Hospital for further assessment on a leg injury.”