Windsor Avenue out to repeat Sky Bet Chase heroics

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Brian Ellison is optimistic Windsor Avenue can bounce back to form when bidding for a repeat victory in the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster on Saturday.

The 11-year-old was a shock 40-1 winner of the Town Moor feature 12 months ago, but has been pulled up in four of his subsequent five starts.

His fourth-place finish behind the top-class L’Homme Presse in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle on his penultimate start is giving his trainer hope, however, while he believes he has discovered a valid reason for his latest no-show in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby on Boxing Day.

Ellison said: “He ran really well at Newcastle, but then he finished lame the last time he ran and we found out afterwards he was sore in his knees.

“Hopefully we’ve got him back. He’s definitely working really well and we’ve managed to not miss anything with the bad weather, which is good.

“It’s a hot race and he has been frustrating, but he is in great form and when he’s on-song we know he’s a good horse.”

Windsor Avenue was fitted with blinkers for the first time in last year’s renewal, but did not finish his next three races in the headgear and it has been left off the last twice.

Brian Ellison trains Windsor Avenue
Brian Ellison trains Windsor Avenue (Mike Egerton/PA)

“The blinkers are finished for him,” Ellison added.

“They worked at Doncaster last year, but they didn’t work after that – he didn’t want to know.

“He didn’t even want to go out on the track with them on at Aintree (in October), so we took them off and he then ran well in the Rehearsal. Hopefully we can get back to that.”

Windsor Avenue was one of 22 horses left in the Sky Bet Chase at Monday’s confirmation stage, with Mark Walford’s Into Overdrive and Jamie Snowden’s Ga Law two of the leading contenders.

Ga Law and jockey Jonathan Burke after winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham
Ga Law and jockey Jonathan Burke after winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham (David Davies/Jockey Club)

Into Overdrive was second in the Rehearsal before going one better in the Rowland Meyrick, while Ga Law was last seen winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham in November.

The weights are headed by Nicky Henderson’s Dusart, with Cap Du Nord (Christian Williams), the prolific Tea For Free (Charlie Longsdon) and Cooper’s Cross (Stuart Coltherd) also standing their ground.

Mr Incredible and Stolen Silver are two of the more notable absentees.

Editeur Du Gite added to Clarence House field

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Editeur Du Gite has been supplemented for the rearranged Albert Bartlett Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Gary Moore’s charge put himself in the Champion Chase picture when causing a shock in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton over the Christmas period.

Although not amongst the candidates for the Grade One contest at Ascot last Saturday, the nine-year-old has won twice at Prestbury Park and his record in Gloucestershire has seen connections part with £2,250 to add him to the field.

The big clash between Energumene and Edwardstone is still on as both also appeared among the confirmations.

The duo were set to clash at the race’s traditional home of Ascot, but with the Berkshire track’s meeting falling victim to the latest cold snap last Saturday, the pair now get the chance to return to the scene of their greatest triumphs .

Respective trainers Alan King and Willie Mullins were quick to state their intentions to line up in the rearranged contest and they have been joined by Joe Tizzard’s Amarillo Sky who was the only other horse declared for Ascot.

Amarillo Sky, here winning at Newbury, is a possible for the Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham
Amarillo Sky, here winning at Newbury, is a possible for the Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham (John Walton/PA)

Adding their names to the mix are Venetia Williams’ Funambule Sivola, who was second behind Energumene in the Champion Chase last March, and David Pipe’s Sizing Pottsie.

The Pond House handler admits his charge has a mountain to climb up against what appears the best of the two-mile division – but with an intended outing at Lingfield lost to the elements, is short of options and willing to take a chance in the hunt for the prize-money on offer.

“We would have liked to have gone to Lingfield on Sunday but he is limited for options,” said Pipe.

“Obviously we will be a big price but it won’t be that big a field. It’ll be the plan to try and get as much (prize money) as we can.”

Although the original contest was short of runners, the two-mile Grade One was only reoffered to those still engaged at the six-day forfeit stage.

Sandown calling for Felicie Du Maquis

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Clive Boultbee-Brooks will go searching for Grade Two glory with his talented mare Felicie Du Maquis, who is set for the Weatherbys Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide Jane Seymour Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown next month.

A late entrant on the scene, the eight-year-old had a two from five record in the pointing field, but has been ultra-impressive since running under rules – winning both outings over hurdles in fine style.

Having followed in esteemed footsteps by winning the same Warwick race Love Envoi took in 2021 in facile fashion on New Year’s Eve, Felicie Du Maquis will continue to tread the same path taken by Harry Fry’s Cheltenham Festival winner when lining up at Sandown on February 16.

“I think she will go down to Sandown in February for the Grade Two – that’s her target for her next race,” said Boultbee-Brooks. “She should go well, she has not been over-raced.

“She’s one of those who is not the best worker at home but she has the right aptitude once you get her on track and she’s got a really good head on her.

“Her forte should be chasing next season, but she’s obviously taken very well to hurdles. She’s a Saddler Maker so she wants it a bit soft and jumping is her forte.”

With a liking for soft ground, plans for later in the season remain fluid and could include an ambitious jaunt across the Channel.

“What we do with her after Sandown is quite difficult really as she does need a bit of cut in the ground,” continued the owner-trainer, who has enjoyed notable success as a pre-trainer and point-to-point handler before saddling runners under rules.

“If it starts drying up too much, I’m half tempted to take her to Auteuil or something like that.

“She’s doesn’t have the biggest depth of page, but she is one we will breed from anyway. We keep our mares out of racing and breed from them.

“Black type is an absolute goal and would be nice but it is not the be and end all as we’ll probably keep the offspring anyway. I wouldn’t necessarily target the black type and Listed races if it wasn’t the right race for her.

“She’ll definitely go chasing next season. She obviously schools over fences at home and she’s mint.”

Exeter and Leicester called off as frost continues to bite

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There will be no National Hunt racing in Britain on Tuesday after fixtures at both Exeter and Leicester were abandoned on Monday morning due to frost.

Officials at Leicester had planned to inspect at 3.30pm, but with the track frozen and no prospect of sufficient improvement, an early decision was made.

Clerk of the course Jimmy Stevenson said: “Unfortunately there has been little improvement.

“I was hoping last night for it not to be as cold – it wasn’t as cold as it has been considering it only went down to minus 3C last night when we have been getting minus 7C and minus 8C. But unfortunately that wasn’t enough to help us out and the frost is really set in the ground now.

“It’s been in the ground now for about nine days and unfortunately the temperatures that are forecast aren’t going to help us.”  

It is a similar story at Exeter, where an inspection had been announced for 4pm. However, that was brought forward to 9am and officials had to draw stumps.

It is not only jumps fixtures which are being affected by the cold snap, with Monday’s all-weather meeting at Kempton abandoned due to freezing fog.

The Sunbury circuit came through a 12.30pm precautionary inspection on Sunday, but a further check was announced for raceday morning and clerk of the course Barney Clifford ultimately had no option but to call off proceedings.

He said: “It’s 8am, we’ve got freezing fog and it’s minus 5C.

“I had to wait to get the latest update from the Met Office and it’s not forecast to clear today. It might do by 3pm, but it’s worse now than it was 7.30am.

“Hopefully we should be fine for racing on Wednesday, but this looks set in for the day. Put it this way, if I was going skiing here today you wouldn’t see much!”

Wednesday’s meeting at Warwick is subject to an inspection at noon on Tuesday, with the current going described as frozen, soft in places.

Kempton return an option for Clondaw Castle

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Tom George was delighted to see a glimpse of the old Clondaw Castle when he made his return from a long layoff at Kempton.

The 11-year-old, who has won five times over the larger obstacles, had been off the track since finishing a well-beaten fourth in the Betfair Chase in 2021 when making his comeback in the Grade Two Silviniaco Conti Chase earlier this month.

Although no match for the emphatic winner Pic D’Orhy, he kept on resolutely for second, which gives the Slad Valley-based handler plenty of cause for optimism moving forwards.

Clondaw Castle ridden by jockey Jonathan Burke clear a fence during the Betway Bowl Chase on Liverpool NHS Day of the 2021 Randox Health Grand National Festival at Aintree
Clondaw Castle ridden by jockey Jonathan Burke clear a fence during the Betway Bowl Chase on Liverpool NHS Day of the 2021 Randox Health Grand National Festival at Aintree (David Davies/PA)

“We were pleased with him,” said George. “Obviously he had been off the track for a long time but his old zest was there and I was happy with him.

“It was a good comeback run and we can start to think about some races in the spring now.”

Clondaw Castle finished second to Master Tommytucker in the same Kempton event in 2021 before returning to the Sunbury track to win the prestigious Coral Trophy handicap a month later.

George has highlighted that race as a possibility once again, as well as the Randox Topham Chase at the Grand National Festival in April.

He added: “He loves that track (Kempton) so that race is high on our list and realistically he is going to struggle to win a graded race so there’s not that many options. But we might think about the Topham as well at Aintree.”

Kempton card falls due to freezing fog

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This afternoon’s all-weather fixture at Kempton has been abandoned due to freezing fog.

The Sunbury circuit came through a 12.30pm precautionary inspection on Sunday, but a further check was announced for raceday morning and officials ultimately had no option but to call off proceedings.

Clerk of the course Barney Clifford said: “It’s 8am, we’ve got freezing fog and it’s minus 5C.

“I had to wait to get the latest update from the Met Office and it’s not forecast to clear today. It might do by 3pm, but it’s worse now than it was 7.30am.

“Hopefully we should be fine for racing on Wednesday, but this looks set in for the day. Put it this way, if I was going skiing here today you wouldn’t see much!”

Leicester’s meeting on Tuesday has also been called off. Officials had planned to inspect at 3.30pm, but with the track frozen and no prospect of sufficient improvement, an early decision was made.

Exeter’s National Hunt meeting on Tuesday must survive a 4pm inspection on Monday.

Embassy Gardens booked for Albert Bartlett following wide-margin win

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Willie Mullins’ Embassy Gardens booked his ticket to the Cheltenham Festival with a runaway success in the W.T. O’Grady Memorial Irish EBF Novice Hurdle at Thurles.

The seven-year-old started as the 5-6 favourite under Paul Townend after some promising maiden efforts that led to the step up to two miles and seven furlongs, for a race won by Monkfish on his way to Cheltenham two years ago.

There may have been some room for improvement in the fluency of his jumping but with two flights remaining he streaked away from his rivals and strolled across the line a massive 35 lengths ahead.

The Albert Bartlett is now the next destination, for which he was slashed to 7-1 from 20-1 by Paddy Power.

“That was a bit more straightforward and he appreciates that step out to three miles,” Mullins said.

“He galloped them into the ground. I imagine the way he gallops through the line, he’ll take up his date in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham. He doesn’t need a run before Cheltenham.

“Hopefully he stays sound and wins a nice novice race this year and he looks a real chasing type.”

Mullins was out of luck in the feature Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase, where Haut En Couleurs fell at the last when holding every chance and Chacun Pour Soi failed to land a blow.

“To me he looked like he slipped, it was one of those things and thankfully horse and jockey are fine,” the trainer told Racing TV of Haut En Couleurs.

Of Chacun Pour Soi he added: “He didn’t impress Paul during the race, he got to the front and Paul just wasn’t happy with him. Maybe age is catching up with him.

“I’ll get him home, check him over and we’ll see where we go.”

Marquand would love chance to be big in Japan again

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Tom Marquand would love to return to Japan to ride again at the end of the British Flat racing season.

The 24-year-old, along with wife and fellow jockey Hollie Doyle, competed in the last two International Jockeys Championships in Hong Kong before heading to Japan for a nine-week stint.

It was the couple’s first trip to Japan, with Covid restrictions having scuppered their plans in 2021 – and the fervent Japanese fans instantly took them to their hearts.

After booting home 16 winners and securing a fourth-placed finish on Daring Tact in the Japan Cup and another Group One ride on Justin Palace in the Arima Kinen, Marquand cannot wait to get back, if invited.

“It is one of the places that everyone in racing should try to visit, just to see it,” he said.

“For as much as people can tell you about it, until you actually go and experience it for at least a couple of weeks, it is pretty mad.

“Everyone should try to get out there. Apart from the racing, it is an amazing country. I’d go back in a heartbeat.”

Marquand and Doyle, who is sidelined with a broken elbow sustained in a fall at Wolverhampton on January 16, will bid to apply to return at the end of the year.

“We will definitely try to go back this year,” he said.

“Sadly, it is not quite as straightforward as saying, ‘I want to go, I’ll go’, like Australia.

“But hopefully, the fact that we had a successful enough trip will help. The application for a licence is based on your success from the year previous, so it is based on what we have done in 2022 in England.

“We were joint second in the championship and you have to be top three in England and/or have ridden two major Group One winners. We both had three last year, so hopefully that will be enough to get back in.”

Metamorpheus could be aimed at Cheltenham in March

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Tim Doyle is dreaming of what would be a memorable a Cheltenham Festival victory with recent Punchestown scorer Metamorpheus.

Raced once on the Flat at two, the homebred son of Morpheus – who is Frankel’s half-brother – did not make his hurdling debut until Limerick at Christmas, where he gave a good account to finish third, beaten little over two lengths at 100-1.

He then showed plenty of improvement to run out a convincing five-length winner at Punchestown on his second outing over timber – a performance that thrilled his Moyne-based handler.

“I was delighted and I loved how he quickened up from the last to the line,” said Doyle.

“He took a good step forward, but he’s an inexperienced horse so I was hoping he would and I’m hoping there would be lots more improvement as well.”

That Punchestown contest has been a good guide to the Boodles Fred Winter in the past and last year saw the Festival-winning Brazil finish fourth to Gordon Elliott’s The Tide Turns, with Cheltenham fourth HMS Seahorse runner-up. The year before Coltor finished fourth before going on to finish fifth at Prestbury Park in the spring.

And having beaten the runner-up Almuhit by a similar distance to what current Boodles favourite Tekao did at Leopardstown over the Christmas period, Doyle acknowledges a Festival bid has to be considered.

“It’s in the back of my mind,” he said. “It’s very exciting because it’s hard to come by horses good enough to go there (Cheltenham) with a little bit of a chance. He’s a good hardy horse and he should keep progressing.

“There’s a couple of options here in Ireland I think at Naas and Fairyhouse and we’ll have to have a run in one of those to qualify.

“I’ve never had a runner at the Festival. I’ve run a few over there in the autumn, but I’ve never had a winner in Cheltenham. So we’ll see what happens and hope it works out.”

Fakir D’oudairies prevails in dramatic Thurles feature

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Fakir D’oudairies seized the opportunity to go one better than last season and claim an incident-packed renewal of Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase at Thurles.

Joseph O’Brien’s gelding finished second behind Allaho last term and was the 7-4 favourite on his return to the track under JJ Slevin.

In the Grade Two he travelled prominently but tailed the strong-finishing Haut En Couleurs and French Dynamite turning into the home straight.

The former looked have the race under control – but a final-flight fall ended his hopes while French Dynamite made a serious mistake behind him.

Fakir D’oudairies then swept through to take up the lead and crossed the line six lengths ahead.

Chacun Pour Soi had moved with promise for a long way, before dropping away quite tamely.

“He got a little lost around the turn and was galloping down the straight but obviously the horse in front fell, although we were coming for a challenge anyway,” O’Brien said.

“I was very pleased with the performance and pleased with how he jumped and it sets him up nicely for the spring. He was giving away weight and I feel as he is getting older, it is taking a bit more work to get him there.

“He is a young horse and over his career has been fantastic and always runs his race. He tries and is a great horse to have in the yard. Today’s race was a good one, they went a good gallop and it was a deep field so I’m very pleased.

“He will potentially go back to Ascot for the Grade One he won last year (Ascot Chase) and then we’ll look at the Ryanair Chase and Aintree. I suppose all those options will be left open.”