Tag Archive for: Aucunrisque

Aucunrisque to stick to hurdles at Cheltenham

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Chris Gordon’s Aucunrisque will run in the McCoy Contractors County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in preference to the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase.

Although winner of the Betfair Hurdle over the smaller obstacles at Newbury last month, the seven-year-old has proven a more than capable operator over fences in his novice chase season.

He was set to return to the larger obstacles on the second day of the Festival where he was disputing favouritism for the two-mile Grand Annual.

However, a less than perfect schooling session means Aucunrisque will now have to wait until the final day of the Prestbury Park showcase for a taste of the action, where he will attempt to confirm Betfair Hurdle form with Emmet Mullins’ Newbury runner-up Filey Bay.

“He’ll go to the County Hurdle,” said Gordon.

“We had a schooling session and it just didn’t quite go as planned and you can’t miss a beat in the Grand Annual. We’re going to go the safe man’s route and go to the County Hurdle instead.

“He’s in good order and the favourite is a horse we beat last time. We went up 9lb, he went up 8lb, so fingers crossed for a good run. He’s been a wonderful horse, he owes us nothing, the only thing I don’t want is the rain – that’s my only issue. Good ground would be ideal for us with Aucunrisque.

Newbury Races – Saturday February 11th
Aucunrisque ridden by Nick Scholfield (centre) before going on to win the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury (Tim Goode/PA)

Gordon is set to be double-handed in the County Hurdle as Aucunrisque will be joined in the line-up by stablemate Highway One O Two, who will miss the Imperial Cup on account of the testing conditions forecast for Sandown.

“He was going to go for the Imperial Cup but sadly the ground has completely gone at Sandown so we won’t be going there and he will be going for the County Hurdle as well,” continued the Winchester-based handler.

“He’s 143 and sadly they didn’t drop him a pound for his Betfair Hurdle run which would have been ideal, but the plan is to go there with two horses.”

Aucunrisque back on track for Cheltenham – and return to fences

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Chris Gordon is “90 per cent sure” his Betfair Hurdle hero Aucunrisque will revert to fences at the Cheltenham Festival for the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup.

After filling the runner-up spot in successive novice chases the nine-year-old was switched back to hurdles at Newbury last month and provided his trainer with one of the biggest victories of his career.

Gordon contemplated a swift return in the following weekend’s Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton, but a bout of colic put paid to that potential plan and he is now being readied for the Festival.

Aucunrisque has the option of stick to the smaller obstacles in the County Hurdle, but his trainer is leaning towards a return to chasing.

Gordon said: “He’s really good, in great form and hopefully on course for Cheltenham.

“We’d probably be looking at the Grand Annual. We’ll do a bit more schooling with him, but the way he’s been jumping fences at home, I’m 90 per cent sure it will be all systems go for the Grand Annual.

“Only a fool could go into a race like that confident, but we’re fresh and we’re well and he’s a horse who has always progressed a little bit each time we’ve run.

“It’s lovely to have a fancied runner, so fingers crossed.”

Aucunrisque will spearhead a small but select team of Gordon-trained runners at Cheltenham.

Annual Invictus will be ridden by Freddie Gordon at the Cheltenham Festival
Annual Invictus will be ridden by Freddie Gordon at the Cheltenham Festival (David Davies/PA)

Coolvalla, who is four from four over fences, appears unlikely to take up his engagement in the National Hunt Chase, but Gordon is hoping to saddle Annual Invictus in the Kim Muir while Highway One O Two could attempt to win the Imperial Cup at Sandown before being considered for Cheltenham.

“Coolvalla is the only one that really needs rain and the way the forecast is I can’t see him running,” he said.

“We’ll probably have Annual Invictus in the Kim Muir and we could have Highway One O Two in the County Hurdle, but I will also have him in the Imperial Cup at Sandown the previous Saturday and if it stays dry I’d be very tempted to run in that.

“He’s a tough, hardy horse who likes good ground, so he could even run in the two.”

As the Kim Muir is restricted to amateur riders, Annual Invictus is set to be partnered by the trainer’s son Freddie Gordon, which would undoubtedly make victory extra special.

Gordon added: “To be quite honest Fred has only got into the racing in the last couple of years. If I’d said to him three years ago you’re going to ride at the Cheltenham Festival I think he’d have said he’d rather I took him to Glastonbury or something!

“He’s switched on to it now though and I’m sure he’ll be very excited about it.”

Colic rules Aucunrisque out of quick return in Kingwell Hurdle

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Betfair Hurdle hero Aucunrisque will miss the Wincanton Jennings Bet Kingwell Hurdle on Saturday after a bout of colic.

The seven-year-old was an impressive winner at Newbury, part of a big TV double for trainer Chris Gordon.

While in such ripe form, Gordon was hoping to strike while the iron was hot, but plans have had to be revised after the Goodwin Racing Ltd-owned gelding was one of five horses at the yard to come down with colic.

Gordon said: “He had colic. We had a new batch of haylage and we had five horses go down with it.

Aucunrisque leading the Betfair Hurdle field
Aucunrisque leading the Betfair Hurdle field (Tim Goode/PA)

“He is all good and will live to fight another day, and so we won’t be running on Saturday.

“Everyone thinks everything is flying when you are having winners. Two were struggling a wee bit today, but they are good. We sorted it and the haylage has been changed – it was about 40 bales.

“Basically, colic is one of those things where they can get a twisted gut and it would require surgery, but with this, it is probably just a bad bale. They get chronic wind and it gets trapped a bit. It is just really bad stomach ache.

“So Aucunrisque won’t be going to Wincanton – he’ll go straight to Cheltenham and if we need to, we can always give him a racecourse gallop. We will look at the Grand Annual and the County Hurdle.”

Aucunrisque may be back out quickly in Kingwell Hurdle

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Chris Gordon could attempt to strike while the iron is hot by running his Betfair Hurdle hero Aucunrisque in the Wincanton Jennings Bet Kingwell Hurdle on Saturday.

The Morestead Stables handler, who saddled a double at Newbury at the weekend, is in a rich vein of form and operating at a strike-rate of well over 40 per cent for the last two weeks – with that hot streak well advertised by Aucunrisque’s game success in the prestigious handicap hurdle.

Having switched back to the smaller obstacles with aplomb and bounced out of his Newbury assignment in rude health, Gordon is now preparing another raid on a valuable hurdling pot while conditions remain to the seven-year-old’s liking.

“He’s come out of it like a lion,” said Gordon. “He’s taken it really well, he wouldn’t have lost a pound in weight. He looks exceptional and the handicapper is going to put him up 9lb.

“I was keeping an eye on the Kingwell at the entry stage and there was only about four in it at around 9.50am, but as soon as I put mine in it another two went in.

“But I thought, you know what, we go on this ground at this time of year, he’s come out of the Betfair in good form, the handicapper is going to put us up and it’s a £70,000 race. The next time after this could be either be the Grand Annual or County Hurdle carrying a bit more weight, so I thought we’d have a little look and see how the week goes.”

Aucunrisque ridden by Nick Scholfield (centre) before going on to win the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury
Aucunrisque ridden by Nick Scholfield (centre) before going on to win the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury (Tom Goode/PA)

Gordon went on: “He bounces off ground like this, he broke the track record at Newbury and he’s just a wonderful little horse with a great constitution.”

Aucunrisque is disputing favouritism for the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham Festival, but with his rating set to be identical in both disciplines, Gordon is keeping his options open with the possibility of sticking to hurdles to take on the challenge of either Sandown’s Imperial Cup or the County Hurdle at Prestbury Park.

“He’s going to go up 9lb over hurdles and 2lb over fences which takes him to 147 in both disciplines,” said Gordon.

“People always like to set things in stone, but I don’t like doing that and you’ve got to be fluid with horses as things change so quickly with them.

“I wouldn’t mind going Imperial Cup, if it was the right ground, County Hurdle or Grand Annual. We’ll see which one suits us best and which one we have the best chance in which is the most important thing.

“It’s not all about the Festival, something like the Imperial Cup is a wonderful race, the Kingwell Hurdle is a wonderful race and the Betfair Hurdle is obviously one which is close to me. I would like to give the horse the best chance of winning.”

Aucunrisque is Betfair Hurdle hero for Chris Gordon

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Aucunrisque foiled an ante-post gamble on Filey Bay in the Betfair Hurdle to give Chris Gordon a red-letter day at Newbury.

Gordon has had his string in red-hot form in recent weeks and had already celebrated a winner earlier on the card when Annual Invictus scored under his son, Freddie.

Gordon fielded two in Europe’s richest handicap hurdle, with Highway One O Two also running. But it was Aucunrisque who was always to the head of affairs under Nick Scholfield.

The winning jockey had spent most of the last year on the sidelines but looked far from rusty on the 9-1 shot.

He did appear a sitting duck, however, as Donagh Meyler loomed up on Filey Bay- but a mistake two out gave the initiative back to Aucunrisque.

The pair pulled 11 lengths clear of Teddy Blue and Yorksea, the Gary Moore pair in third and fourth, but it was Aucunrisque who was a length in front at the line.

Gordon said of the winner, who spent the first half of the season novice chasing: “We’ll go for the Grand Annual with him now.

“He is a wonderful, tough, consistent horse. He gives me no issues. Like the other horse (in the race). They are wonderful, easy horses to train. This one is so consistent. It just makes life so much easier when they are straightforward, which he is. Let’s have a little crack at the Grand Annual and see how we go.”

Aucunrisque leads the packing field in the Betfair Hurdle
Aucunrisque leads the packing field in the Betfair Hurdle (Tim Goode/PA)

He went on: “He is owned by the guv’nor (Julian Head, Goodwin Racing), who sponsors half my yard, so it is fantastic, so I will probably take him into the bar and try to sell him another horse. He has fallen for that too many times.

“This race meant a lot to me growing up. It was the old Schweppes Hurdle. I just always remember that Ryan Price thing (trained four of the first five winners). I always thought ‘those clever trainers’ – and I must hasten to add I’ve proved the whole philosophy wrong – those shrewd trainers won it and now I have. I thought my other horse would win, so I’ve proved that completely wrong.

“I went to Josh Gifford’s when I was 14 years old on work experience from my school. Because I was such a delinquent at school, they used to send me off on special escapades. So they sent me to Josh’s. That Ryan Price/Josh Gifford (was the jockey on all of Price’s winners) thing means it is a very important race to me,

“This ranks right up there on memorable days, especially with my son winning the earlier race. It is a special day, a really special day.”

He added: “We were going to go for the Lightning Chase at Doncaster, but I thought if I get lucky and go and win it, he might go up a couple of pounds. So I thought let’s have a go at a proper race and it has worked out.”

He quipped: “I told Nick to tuck in and let them make it, and burst through at the second-last. Maybe if he’d have done that, he might have won by 10 lengths!”

Gordon favouring Betfair Hurdle for Aucunrisque

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Chris Gordon is poised to aim versatile Aucunrisque at Newbury’s Betfair Hurdle in a fortnight’s time and has all but ruled him out of a tilt over fences on Saturday.

The seven-year-old has won four of six races over hurdles, but has been campaigned in chases so far this term.

Having won on his fencing bow at Uttoxeter, he was runner-up to Frere D’Armes in the Fulke Walwyn Trophy at Newbury and was then beaten a length by Boothill in the Grade Two Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton over Christmas.

Though he holds an entry in the MND Association Race For Research Lightning Novices’ Chase at Doncaster on Saturday, the Hampshire-based handler would sooner run him over hurdles before reverting to fences at the Cheltenham Festival.

“I’m very keen to run him in the Betfair,” said Gordon. “He’s also in the Grade Two on Saturday and if it breaks up, we might go for that, but I just think that he’s on a mark of 145, which is high enough for him over fences anyway.

“If he went and ran a blinder on Saturday, he could potentially go up 1lb or more.

“We’d like to go for the Grand Annual with him, but there we are on a mark of 138 for the Betfair, which makes a bit more sense, to go and have a run there.

“If we got lucky, it probably won’t affect our chase mark, so that’s the way I’d like to go, really.

“He’s in great form and we’re really pleased with him. Him and Highway One O Two, the plan is that both of those will go for the Betfair.”

Gordon has had a relatively quiet spell after a storming start to the season and is keen to get the ball rolling again.

“We’ve had it quiet in December, because we had a bit of a sniffle and we’ve been very quiet through January because we had to give them a flu jab,” he said.

“I had to back off them a fair bit and we are just about to get going.”

Gordon eyeing Lightning strike for Aucunrisque

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Connections of Aucunrisque are pondering options which include the Watch Off The Fence On attheraces.com Lightning Novices’ Chase at Doncaster later this month.

The Chris Gordon-trained seven-year-old showed plenty of promise over hurdles, winning four and finishing second from six starts.

That early promise has translated to fences with a win and two runner-up efforts from three starts, the latest when going down by a length to Boothill in the Wayward Lad at Kempton over Christmas.

The Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick next month is another possible destination, although the Hampshire-based handler could head straight to the Cheltenham Festival with the Goodwin Racing-owned gelding.

“Much will depend on the way the weather goes,” said Gordon. “I love the name of the Kingmaker but if I had to go for one of those sorts of races, it would be the Donny race, the Lightning.”

He added: “They have all had their flu jabs now and I could be quiet in January.

“I just thought that Donny race (on January 28) might be a nice race for him, but if we don’t go there, we might well head towards the Grand Annual.

“We could go straight there – the owner would be quite keen on a day out at Cheltenham. We haven’t really discussed it, but he is a pretty laid back guy and lets me get on with life.

“If he comes back from the flu jab grand, we’ll probably go to Donny and if not, we’ll go straight to the Grand Annual.”

The yard has not had much luck over the festive period, with just one winner from the last 30 runners, although Blame The Game only just failed by a neck to justify favouritism in the Sussex National Handicap Chase at Plumpton on Monday and had to be content with playing second fiddle to Atakan.

“That was a little bit painful,” said Gordon. “I thought Aucunrisque would nick the Wayward Lad coming off the bend and I thought we’d won the Sussex National, but I keep getting it wrong.

“Blame The Game has taken it well, though. He had a tough old race, but I have been very proud of him the way he has conducted himself this season.

“I haven’t got any long-term plans – as the Sussex National was the plan. We will regroup in February and then hopefully come up with a lot more plans then.”