The British Horseracing Authority has confirmed the Clarence House Chase will take place at Cheltenham next Saturday.
It is the third time since 2013 that Ascot, the race’s home, has been abandoned due to the weather and Cheltenham a week later has stepped into the breach to stage the race.
The BHA were keen to thank the Horserace Betting Levy Board for its contribution to the prize-money, with £90,000 up for grabs.
Entries will revert to the early-closing stage, with confirmations made on Monday morning followed by declarations on Thursday.
Punters were looking forward to a clash between last year’s Champion Chase winner Energumene and the Arkle hero Edwardstone – and after connections of the former confirmed earlier in the week they were keen to run if the race was rearranged, Alan King joined suit.
He said: “We’ll go there, that’s the plan.
“If it hadn’t been rescheduled and then Newbury was off (Game Spirit Chase) then we really are in trouble.
“I’m very grateful they’ve put it back on and that will be the plan.”
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Harry Cobden says anyone who underestimates Cheltenham Gold Cup contender Bravemansgame does so at their peril, with the in-form rider confident the King George hero can shake up the Irish contingent at Prestbury Park in March.
Despite his impressive Boxing Day success at Kempton, the Paul Nicholls-trained eight-year-old is a 9-1 shot with Paddy Power for the blue riband, with Galopin Des Champs all the rage to provide Willie Mullins with a third Gold Cup as the 6-4 favourite.
Grand National hero Noble Yeats is another prominent in the market at 13-2 for Emmet Mullins, with Henry de Bromhead’s reigning champion A Plus Tard and Galopin Des Champs’ stablemate Stattler also shorter in the betting than Bravemansgame, both at 8-1.
Cobden, though, is a jockey riding the wave of a big-race success this season and he is in no doubt Bravemansgame has what it takes to make his presence felt in the Cotswolds.
He told TalkSPORT2: “I haven’t sat on him (since the King George), but he looks fantastic and the plan is obviously to go straight to the Gold Cup, so I’m very much looking forward to March.
“I thought when he ran at Wetherby (winning the Charlie Hall Chase) he was only 60 or 70 per cent fit – I didn’t think he was fit at all and he blew a little bit afterwards.
“I knew there was so much improvement there. By no means did I go into the King George and think all we had to do was jump round and we’d have it sewn up, but I was very, very confident going because he’d never felt so good schooling during the week and went there fresh.
“For some reason there were quite a lot of people that were doubting Bravemansgame going into the King George, I don’t know why.
“Every time he’s gone to a big occasion he’s never really delivered as a novice and I suppose one could say he’s been fairly well placed and been minded and when he’s come to the big day he’s let us down.
“But I think Paul has got him absolutely spot-on this year. He’s probably learnt how to train him a lot better, I’ve learnt to ride him a lot better and you’re really seeing the best of Bravemansgame now.”
Bravemansgame with connections at Kempton (John Walton/PA)
Perhaps the obvious reason for Bravemansgame’s inflated odds is the fact Nicholls suggested earlier in his career he viewed him more as a King George type than a Gold Cup horse, while he was firmly put in his place by Bob Olinger on his only previous appearance at Cheltenham in the 2021 Ballymore.
But Cobden is not unduly concerned about the change of venue or a step up in trip.
“I’ve never won a Gold Cup, but I’ve ridden in a few and he’s got to be one of the best horses I’ve ever ridden,” he added.
“With regards to the track, I don’t think it’s an issue. He’s a very well-balanced horse, he’s a good jumper and the only time he’s run there before I don’t think he was right.
“Going left-handed isn’t an issue – he’s won round Newbury and Newton Abbot and Haydock and a few other tracks. Is the trip an issue? Well he went three and a half miles on Boxing Day – whether you like it or not he went five wide the whole way round there.
“It’s quite funny how many people pick faults in him, but to be fair to him he’s been nothing but brilliant this year. From a jockey’s point of view, I’m very confident going into the race and I feel quite fortunate to be riding him.”
Another factor adding to Cobden’s confidence is his faith in his boss to get one ready for the day that really matters.
He said: “Paul Nicholls comes back from Antigua on Saturday and every time he comes back from holiday he’s got the bit between his teeth, so there’ll be no stone unturned.
“Since Boxing Day he has been training him for the Gold Cup. Maybe I’m slightly biased because I ride for Paul all the time, but I promise you now, I’ve never known a bloke to ready a horse for a certain day like he does.
“When he says he’s going to train one for a day, it’s unbelievable – he gets them 110 per cent for the day. They don’t even need to go for a racecourse gallop or anything.
“I don’t know how he does it, but I’ve never seen anything like it really.”
https://devplatform.ggzssd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2.70375829-scaled.jpg12802560DaveMhttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngDaveM2023-01-18 16:03:542023-01-18 16:03:54Cobden can hardly wait for Gold-en shot with Bravemansgame
Flooring Porter’s bid for a third Stayers’ Hurdle victory is in doubt after Gavin Cromwell revealed his stable star was “50-50” to make Cheltenham after suffering a setback.
The eight-year-old was a brilliant all-the-way winner of the Paddy Power-sponsored three-mile showpiece in 2021 and was similarly impressive when successfully defending his crown last season.
Just as he did last term, Flooring Porter was set to return to the Festival off the back of successive defeats after finishing fourth in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan and in Leopardstown’s Christmas Hurdle.
Gavin Cromwell and Danny Mullins at Cheltenham (Steven Paston/PA)
But whether he lines up at Cheltenham at all this time around is now far from certain.
Cromwell said: “I suppose we’re hanging in the balance there with Cheltenham. Hopefully we won’t be set back too long, but he’s likely to miss another two or three weeks.
“It’s far from ideal. I’d say it’s probably 50-50 he’ll make Cheltenham.”
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Grand National hero Noble Yeats is set to be rerouted to the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday week after an administrative error ruled him out of Sunday’s Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield.
The Emmet Mullins-trained eight-year-old provided amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen with a fairytale success in last year’s renewal of the Aintree spectacular, on what proved to be his final ride.
Noble Yeats was pulled up on his reappearance at Auteuil, but has since impressed in winning a Listed prize at Wexford and Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase, with the latter success in particular thrusting him into the Cheltenham Gold Cup picture.
Connections identified the £165,000 Fleur De Lys Chase as a suitable next port of call – but it was confirmed on Tuesday that he will not be able to line up as the horse’s vaccination record is not compliant with the Rules of Racing.
Noble Yeats – what a superstar for Emmet Mullins 🏇
The British Horseracing Authority said in a statement that a change to the rules came into effect this month, following a 12-month transition period to allow trainers to adjust to the changes to the vaccine booster intervals.
Owner Robert Waley-Cohen, however, feels improvements to the entry system could still be made.
He said: “It’s disappointing, but the ground at Lingfield could be awful. They’ve covered what was waterlogged ground because of the frost, which is not a good combination, and they’ve already abandoned racing on Friday, so maybe we’ve dodged a bullet.
“On the other hand, I don’t really understand why the programme is set up in such a way that they don’t advise you that more information is required until the deadline has passed.
Robert Waley-Cohen (right) with Noble Yeats (Brian Lawless/PA)
“Whenever you’re making entries, surely it should trigger something to say you need to upload some more information.
“I’ve just got on a flight and when you’re checking in they say you need to input your Covid information and your visa information, then you can select a seat and check-in. They don’t say when you turn up at the door ‘sorry you can’t fly today because you haven’t uploaded your information’.
“I think it’s disappointing that they don’t have a trigger saying ‘thank you for you entry, you need to to give us more information before this entry becomes valid’.
“A great many people are getting caught out with it because obviously vaccination is an ongoing thing and you have to keep on uploading on a regular basis for different horses – and people make administrative errors, that’s why they’re trainers and not businessmen.”
When asked whether he had discussed an alternative plan with Mullins, Waley-Cohen added: “We’ve had lots of chat and I think it’s almost certain that he’ll go to the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham six days later.”
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Patrick Neville is planning to head straight to the Cheltenham Festival with his exciting novice chaser The Real Whacker.
Placed in Grade Two company as a novice hurdler last season, the seven-year-old made a successful chasing debut at Cheltenham in November before producing a spring-heeled display to land the Dipper Novices’ Chase on his return to Prestbury Park on New Year’s Day.
The Real Whacker has been given an ambitious entry in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but looks set to stick to novice company, with a step back up in trip for the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase the likely target.
Neville said: “He came out of the race on New Year’s Day very good, I’m very happy with him. He stepped up a good bit and I was delighted with him.
“I think he’ll go straight to the Festival now – we’re not that far away. Probably the most logical will be the Brown Advisory. I gave him an entry in the Gold Cup, but we’ll probably go for the three-mile novice.
“His jumping is very good and his last run was only his sixth run. He hasn’t much mileage on the clock and if he keeps progressing, I’ll be happy.”
The Real Whacker is the star of a team of around 20 horses Neville trains out of Ann Duffield’s yard in North Yorkshire, having made the move from Ireland in 2021.
Neville was due to take up residence at a yard of his own yard in nearby Middleham, but ended up setting up alongside Duffield on the outskirts of Leyburn and it has proved a fruitful relationship.
“I came over a year ago last November. I came to take a yard and when that fell through I ended up going to Ann Duffield and I’m delighted it’s working out,” the trainer added.
The Real Whacker was a winner at Cheltenham in November (David Davies/Jockey Club)
“I thought it would be easy transferring the Irish licence over but it wasn’t – it took nine or 10 months. Initially we were running the National Hunt horses under Ann’s name and since we came over we’ve had about 17 winners.
“N’Golo was a Grade Three winner and ‘Whacker’ was second in the Grade Two hurdle last year.”
Reflecting on his decision to move across the Irish Sea, Neville said: “I’ve been training in Ireland since around 2006 and we had some nice winners, but just for the last couple of years it was a struggle. We just couldn’t get owners.
“The good thing about the UK is there’s plenty of racing and you can train horses for races. In Ireland there might be only one race meeting on during the week and you could be balloted out then for six or seven weeks. It’s very hard to keep a horse training for that long without getting into a race.
“I travelled over to England a few times and a had a few winners and I just thought ‘you know what, it’s costing too much to travel over, I’ll give it a go over here for a while and see how it goes’.
“We’ve got fabulous facilities and I get on great with Ann. I rent 22 or 23 boxes off her, it’s a lovely location and it’s going well.”
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Blazing Khal’s chances of lining up in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham are no better than “50-50 at best”, according to trainer Charles Byrnes.
The seven-year-old won all of his three hurdle races last season, with two victories coming at Cheltenham.
He relished the step up to three miles when impressively landing the Grade Two Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park in December 2021.
Great to get down to Beale Strand today. Blazing Khal enjoyed his trip to the beach. pic.twitter.com/5Dit96n5hN
However, he subsequently suffered a setback and has been sidelined since.
A general 6-1 second favourite for the Stayers’ Hurdle, Byrnes was hoping to see Blazing Khal run over Christmas, but has not been able to step up his work.
The son of Kalanisi was given a outing on the sands at Beale Strand on the Shannon Estuary, an hour’s drive from the trainer’s Ballingarry yard, on Sunday.
However, with a trip to the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown on February 4 and 5 also ruled out for a belated return, Byrnes admits Blazing Khal’s Cheltenham bid is “probably a long-shot”.
He said: “We are hoping to get a run into him. Cheltenham is still very much in the balance. I would say it is 50-50 at best. We have stuck him in – the entries close tomorrow – but he will not run at the Dublin Festival, either.
“It is probably a long-shot now that he’ll make it to Cheltenham. We are going to try to do our best, anyway. We had him on the beach yesterday, but we have to take baby steps with him. He’s still not doing strong work.”
Byrnes, who won the Stayers’ Hurdle with Solwhit in 2013, will not entertain thoughts of going straight to Cheltenham without a prep run, either.
He added: “There is no way we’d go to Cheltenham without a run. But we are running very tight in time. There are a couple of options – there’s a race at Gowran and a race at Navan after the Dublin Festival.
Charles Byrnes is in a race against time with Blazing Khal (Niall Carson/PA)
“But is all getting very tight now. Part of the problem is we don’t really know what the problem is.
“He is not moving as well as we’d like him to, but he’s going to be doing everything now – he’s going to be given every chance, but it is probably 50-50 at best.
“He’ll have entries at Punchestown and in France as well, but Cheltenham is looking tight. It is what it is, people have worse problems.”
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Neil Mulholland will send Lord Accord to the Dahlbury Stallions at Chapel Stud Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham before he goes back over fences.
The lightly-raced eight-year-old has won three of his nine starts over fences and triumphed in six of 17 races under rules, with three runner-up efforts to his name.
The consistent Yeats gelding won at Cheltenham in October, before chasing home previous King George VI Chase winner Frodon in the Badger Beer Handicap Chase at Wincanton.
His last run saw him finish ninth to Le Milos in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury.
Lord Accord (nearside) has a hurdles date (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Mulholland is keen to give him a tune-up before going back over fences and said: “It wasn’t the worst run in the world in the Hennessy (Coral Gold Cup) and we have put him away for the winter now.
“Obviously, he won at Cheltenham and finished second in the Badger Ale.
“He will probably run in the Ultima Handicap Chase, but he will probably run in the Cleeve Hurdle in between.”
Milkwood will wait for suitable ground (Jeff Holmes/PA)
Meanwhile, Milkwood, who finished runner-up in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las before getting stuck in the mud when last of four to Knappers Hill in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton, will be kept on the sidelines until the ground is better.
Mulholland added: “Milkwood got a little bit jarred up after Wincanton. We will just wait for a bit of nicer ground and to be fair, he will run more when the ground is right.
“He is in good order and we are happy with him.
“We have had minus 10Cs, minus 8Cs and I do feel that it has knocked the horses a little bit. It is hard to keep them on the go when it gets like that.”
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Milton Harris has been dealt another injury blow as promising hurdler Gentle Slopes has been ruled out for the season.
Having already seen last season’s Grade One-winning juvenile hurdler Knight Salute sidelined, it is a bitter blow to the Warminster yard, as Gentle Slopes had shown plenty of promise in winning a competitive Cheltenham bumper in November.
A £90,000 purchase on the back of a point-to-point win, the Anwar Badri-owned Gentle Slopes won in good style on his Sedgefield debut, before being held by Encanto Bruno at Cheltenham on his second start.
His four-length success over School Days Over on his return to Prestbury Park brought forth quotes for the Champion Bumper.
Switched to hurdling for his next run, he was a beaten favourite when third to Attacca in a Cheltenham novices’ heat last month, but was well supported to bounce back in the Ballymore Maiden Hurdle when upped to an extended two and a half miles at Cheltenham on Sunday.
However, having travelled well to the home turn, he dropped away tamely under Sean Bowen and was beaten over 27 lengths by Weveallbeencaught.
Harris revealed: “Gentle Slopes is out for the season. That’s the nature of racing.
Milton Harris will step Twinjets up in class for his next run (Mike Egerton/PA)
“I thought something was wrong, as he dropped out. He just picked up an injury, but he’s gone for the year.”
The yard gained some compensation with a Plumpton double on Monday, with Harry Cobden partnering both Twinjets and El Muchacho and to success.
Twinjets, who took an extended two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdle to supplement his earlier Leicester success, will now move to deeper waters.
Harris said: “He has a double penalty now, so he will have to go up in grade.
“I’m tempted to go for the two-mile-five-furlong Graded race at Warwick (Grade Two Ballymore Leamington Novices’ Hurdle, January 14) or there’s the (Grade Two) Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle on Cheltenham Trials day on January 28 – nothing dramatic, but he’s good.
“He’s a galloper and is improving. Gentle Slopes is a bit better, though, so it is a shame he is gone for the year.”
With Knight Salute also sidelined, the yard will rely on Scriptwriter to provide star quality in the coming months.
The Mark and Maria Adams-owned four-year-old is Britain’s leading Triumph Hurdle hope after supplementing his two hurdle wins with another success, in a mile-and-a-half all-weather Flat handicap at Wolverhampton on Friday evening.
Having taken his tally to three wins since being bought out of Aidan O’Brien’s yard, he is now set to have at least one more spin before the Festival meeting in March.
Harris said: “Scriptwriter is due to go to Cheltenham for the Trials Day on January 28 and if that doesn’t happen, due to ground conditions or whatever, he’ll go to the Adonis at Kempton.”
In the longer term, Harris could return to the Flat with the 62,000 guineas purchase.
He added: “He’s a good horse and he’s pretty unexposed on the Flat. We’ll protect his handicap mark as much as possible, but you couldn’t rule out something like the Ebor with him next season.”
Midnight River showed plenty of stamina to give Dan and Harry Skelton the best start to 2023, landing the Paddy Power New Year’s Day Handicap Chase at Cheltenham.
The eight-year-old advertised his credentials when a staying-on third in the valuable Paddy Power Gold Cup at the same venue on his previous run, albeit that was on the Old Course and on quicker ground.
The Midnight Legend gelding jumped with authority and always had the better of Stolen Silver after pinging the last fence, the 6-1 shot recording a two-and-a-quarter-length victory, with the rider’s spread-eagled arms celebration with his hands off the reins as they crossed the winning line, speaking volumes.
“He didn’t need the reins at all – he was just showing off,” smiled the winning trainer.
“That was really, really good. Obviously, it was a bit frustrating in the Paddy Power, as the ground wasn’t quite soft enough for him. It was what it was on the day and of course, you get a different winner. We all get our chances, because of the weather, and this has really suited him.
Midnight River and Harry Skelton (David Davies/PA)
“But we should also take into consideration this track (New Course), which is much better for him that the other track (Old Course).
“Those two things coming together, the culmination of that, has helped us a lot. He has always been a very good horse. He threw himself on the floor last year at Carlisle, like I’ve never seen before. It was remarkable what he did.
“I thought we’d have real problems and we just had to nurse him round all last year, but this year it has been all about putting it together into a big day. Of course he has backed up a good run in the Paddy Power before coming here and he is going the right way.”
Options are open for Midnight River and Skelton added: “There is the Millions meeting at Lingfield – the Fleur De Lys is a consideration, but I wouldn’t be running him against 165-rated horses – then there’s back here on Trials Day.
“We could consider something more flashy, or you just hold fire and come back for the Plate or the Ultima if it was a bit quicker.”
Weveallbeencaught and Sam Twiston-Davies (David Davies/PA)
Weveallbeencaught will also return to the Festival in March after making all the running and justifying 5-4 favouritism in the Ballymore Maiden Hurdle.
Sam Twiston-Davies had to work hard aboard the £210,00 purchase, who was beaten here on his return by Challow winner Hermes Allen, with trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies hinting that the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – for which he was cut to 12-1 from 20-1 by Paddy Power – would be his preferred option, rather than the Ballymore.
“He doesn’t have to have three miles, but he will be better at three, you’d think,” said Twiston-Davies.
“He will come back in March for one of the two novice hurdles. I’m sure it will be the three-mile one. We don’t want to take on Hermes Allen. We’re not stupid.”
Rapper and Richard Patrick (David Davies/PA)
Rapper (8-1) continued the fine form of trainer Henry Daly when staying on relentlessly in the AIS Handicap Chase to score by eight and a half lengths under Richard Patrick.
“If you’d have watched him go round earlier in the year, you’d have said he’d have struggled here. Put a pair of cheekpieces on and he’s taken off,” said Daly, who was having his sixth winner in the last fortnight.
“I just thought, when he ran at Haydock, he was always on the back foot. We don’t know if it will work a second time, but he was totally different today.”
Hector Javilex was a Cheltenham winner (David Davies/PA)
Fresh from Tea For Free’s success at Newbury on Saturday, trainer Charlie Longsdon and jockey Lily Pinchin teamed up again to score with Hector Javilex (8-1) in the three-mile Paddy Power Handicap Hurdle.
Longsdon said: “Three miles and slower ground suited. He had a trapped epiglottis on his first run in this country on slow ground. He couldn’t breath. Since then we have only run him on better ground, for no reason other than that is what was put in front of us.
“He relishes this slower ground and it looked like it today – that was a career-best by a country mile. We have now got to look at a Pertemps Qualifier, really. If he is going to be rated mid-130s, that does sneak him in the Pertemps, so we will have to think about that and come back in the spring, maybe.”
Fiercely Proud (right) won the closing bumper (David Davies/PA)
Ben Pauling is in two minds about whether Fiercely Proud will line up in the Champion Bumper at the Festival meeting in March after his half-length success in the JCB “Junior” National Hunt Flat Race.
He said: “To be honest, today was the aim. We didn’t know if he would handle soft ground. I would imagine we will keep him in bumpers and look towards one on the better bumpers.
“We all know the Irish are pretty deadly at those but whatever happens, he is a lovely horse for next year.
“I will speak to (owner) Tim Radford and Jamie and Harry, his two sons. They are fanatical and no doubt we will have a chat and see where we go.
“They have run horses in the Champion Bumper before. I haven’t. I’m not the biggest fan of the race.
“But he is probably the type of horse who could possibly run in it. He’s a flat-bred three-year-old that looks like he’s improving, so maybe.”
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Marie’s Rock bounded back into action with a convincing triumph in the careers@dornangroup.com Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The Nicky Henderson-trained mare has not been seen since April, when she signed off her season with a superb Grade One double in mares’ contests at Cheltenham and Punchestown.
Back in action against geldings in this Grade Two heat, the mare took no time to hit her stride when coming home a wide-margin winner at 11-2 under Nico de Boinville.
Getting weight all round, she made smooth progress to grab the lead from Dashel Drasher and galloped six lengths clear, with stablemate First Street a further head back in third.
Betfair make Marie’s Rock a 4-1 chance from 8s to defend her Mares’ Hurdle title in March, while she is 16-1 for the Stayers’ Hurdle.
Henderson said: “It was remarkable. I was trying to train her early on in the year and I couldn’t see anywhere for her to go. She wants two and a half (miles), perfect trip for her, but there wasn’t a race for her until the Relkeel.
“I tried to train her early on in the year and she wasn’t showing anything, which is what she did two years ago, when she took a year out.
“So I stopped and started again. All of a sudden, her work was completely different again. So you can guess what I’m going to tell you now?
“She will go for the Mares’ Hurdle. They only thing you could have said, the original idea might have been to try her over three miles earlier on. It (possible race) was over three miles and it was Listed, but I wasn’t happy with her.
“Do you do Stayers’ Hurdle? I don’t know. She tanked up there. I think she would have taken a blow at the top of the Cleeve Hill.
Marie’s Rock grabbed the lead from Dashel Drasher (left) (David Davies/PA)
“We have all got to get everywhere. It is great getting your ducks in order, but you have to get them in the right order and they have all got to be swimming downstream at the right time.”
He added: “I surprised me how well she did it. To do that was pretty impressive. Nico was always sat there having a lovely time. She gets through this ground – this is not nice ground – but she sort of scampers along. She is not like one of these great big, long-striding chasers that can’t get through it. She scampered and she gets through it better than most.
“I can’t see any point in going anywhere with her before Cheltenham.
“First Street has run a great race. He just didn’t get two and a half in that sort of ground. He was going plenty well enough at the last. He couldn’t quicken and flattened out. He wants to come back to two miles on better ground.”
De Boinville was impressed with his mount’s returning effort.
He said: “It was very, very impressive. I was surprised she was that impressive in that ground – it was dead and sticky and not very nice at all. Everyone at Seven Barrows has done a great job getting her ready for today and she felt fresh and jumped brilliantly. She is just a true Grade One mare.
“I didn’t want to go for her too soon as that last hurdle is stepped back quite far. I was mindful that it was her first race of the season, but as soon as I’ve winged the last, she set off up the hill and stayed on really well. I’m delighted with the run, and she is just a fantastic mare.”
https://devplatform.ggzssd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2.66632940-scaled.jpg12802560DaveMhttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngDaveM2023-01-01 14:57:192023-01-01 16:00:12Marie’s Rock lifts Relkeel title on Cheltenham return
