Tag Archive for: Harry Cobden

Cobden can hardly wait for Gold-en shot with Bravemansgame

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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
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.”

Pic D’Orhy powers to Silviniaco Conti win for Nicholls and Cobden

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Pic D’Orhy stamped his class on the Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton to give Paul Nicholls a third win in the Grade Two in four years and set up a potential clash with Shishkin next time out.

Fresh from success in the Peterborough Chase, Pic D’Orhy (6-4 favourite) looked the one to beat and so it proved, as bar one mistake before the turn into the home straight he never looked in any danger.

Harry Cobden, enjoying a dream run for his boss in recent weeks with big wins on Bravemansgame, Hermes Allen and Tahmuras, oozed confidence throughout.

Coral cut the winner into 14-1 from 25s for the Ryanair Chase and on this form he would seem well worth his place in the field.

Paint The Dream attempted to keep tabs on him, but by the second-last had cried enough and was eventually beaten for second by Clondaw Castle.

Angels Breath, having his first run for Sam Thomas and first outing for three years, understandably ran keen before eventually being pulled up.

“I walked the course this morning and was just a bit worried about the ground, but he liked it,” said Cobden.

“He missed the fourth-last but aside from that was very assured.

“He’s improved and is a smart horse, but I think he’s a few pounds off being a Grade One (horse).

“I don’t think the Ryanair Chase will be his thing and there are good races at Aintree and the other festivals.

“Before that I think Ascot over two-miles-five (Ascot Chase next month) would suit him. He should be able to make the best use of his jumping around there.”

Pic D'Orhy has looked a better horse this season
Pic D’Orhy has looked a better horse this season (Tim Goode/PA)

Winning owner Johnny de la Hey said: “He has definitely grown up and he is a bigger, stronger horse. We were pretty worried as I had a few texts with Paul this morning about the ground and there was 10 millimetres last night and we thought that was going to be too soft.

“He has put it all together now and that opens up loads of options for us. We love that race (the Betfair Ascot Chase, which the owner won with Cyrname in 2019) and that would be the obvious choice to go to and then Aintree after that.

“It is probably the right way of saying it that he could nick one (a Grade One). He is rated 158 and he will probably go up a few pounds so he is not a million miles away from being a proper Grade One horse.

“Paul has got some good horses to benchmark him against and I’d say he is just below a Bravemansgame but we are still pretty happy. That is his fourth Grade Two and if we can keep picking those up, why not.”

Pic D’Orhy chasing another big Saturday success for Nicholls

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Paul Nicholls looks to hold all the aces in the Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase as he seeks to win the Kempton contest for the third time.

The Ditcheat handler has been in unstoppable form of late and could add further big-race Saturday success with Pic D’Orhy who heads the betting for the two-and-a-half-mile contest.

The seven-year-old won the Pendil Novices’ Chase over course and distance last season and made it two from two for the current campaign when making all to land the Peterborough Chase in fine style at Huntingdon last month.

“He wouldn’t want the ground going too soft, but he won the Peterborough as he liked last time, beating a sensible field at Huntingdon,” said the champion trainer’s stable jockey, Harry Cobden.

“I know he’s not the highest-rated horse in the world, but I think he’s still improving actually.

“He’s just turned eight and he’s got a bit of scope to improve.

“The betting has got it right on form – he’s got to be the one to beat, I think.”

Also representing the all-conquering Ditcheat team is Saint Calvados, who proved much too keen when making his first appearance for owner-rider David Maxwell in the two-runner Chanelle Pharma 1965 Chase at Ascot in November.

David Maxwell will ride Saint Calvados in the Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase
David Maxwell will ride Saint Calvados in the Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase (John Walton/PA)

“The hood will quieten him down and I imagine he’ll be less strong with a few more runners – he needs a bit of cover,” said Maxwell.

“He’s nice, but I must admit I was a bit surprised by how strong he was when I rode him at Ascot. This should suit him a bit better, he should get a decent pace and I think he’ll go well.

“I’m just going to steer round tucked in third or fourth and see how we go, but I think he’ll go well and obviously Paul’s horses are in great form.”

It was Coole Cody who denied Saint Calvados at Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival winner is once again raced in graded company by handler Evan Williams.

“It’s a very very competitive race, but I don’t want to run him in handicaps where he’s giving chunks of weight away,” said the Llancarfan-based handler.

“So we’ll just keep trying our best in these types of races and see how we get on. He’s a smashing old horse and he’s been brilliant.”

Fergal O’Brien’s Paint The Dream was an emphatic 14-length winner at Newbury when last sighted, a victory that makes him highest-rated runner in the field.

Tom George’s course winner Clondaw Castle was second in this contest two years ago and drops back in trip having failed to land a blow when swimming in deep waters in the Betfair Chase, while the six-strong line-up is rounded off by Angels Breath, who makes his stable debut for Sam Thomas following 1,121 days off the track.

Paul Nicholls brings up another century with help of Taunton four-timer

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Paul Nicholls broke through the century mark for the season as the champion trainer and Harry Cobden teamed up for a Monday four-timer at Taunton.

The Ditcheat handler began the afternoon on 97 winners for the campaign and sent a strong team of five runners across Somerset.

He was double-handed in the Broadway & Horton Cricket Club Novices’ Hurdle, with punters unable to split stablemates Iliko D’Olivate and Pleasant Man, who were the 6-4 joint-favourites.

Pleasant Man ran with credit in defeat to finish third, but Iliko D’Olivate was an authoritative six-length winner under Cobden, with Syd Hosie’s Way Out best of the rest in second.

Nicholls and Cobden swiftly doubled up with Cap Du Mathan (6-4) in the Summerfield Developments Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase before 2-5 shot Rare Middleton brought up the trainer’s century with victory in the first division of the Invest Southwest Maiden Hurdle.

The latter won on the Flat at Leopardstown in October before changing hands for 215,000 guineas and looks an exciting addition to the hurdling ranks.

“He’s a very smart horse and there’s loads more to come from him,” Nicholls told Racing TV.

“He only started schooling six weeks ago and I don’t like running them that soon, but he’d been outside on the grass luckily enough twice and he’s going to learn so much from jumping.

“I was concerned first time on this ground about whether he’d get the trip and everything else, but he’s a nice horse and I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more from him.”

Nicholls did not have to wait long for winner 101, with Afadil comfortably justifying odds of 8-15 in division two.

The son of Camelot gave his supporters a fright by almost refusing at the first flight, but ultimately won comfortably by two lengths, seeing Paddy Power cut his Triumph Hurdle odds to 16-1 from 33-1.

“I’m very happy with everything – the way the horses are looking, the way they’re running and the way Harry is riding. Everybody is working hard at home, it’s fantastic,” Nicholls added.

Cobden said: “I think they were all very well placed and it’s nice when you’ve got some good, young stock coming through.

“All three of the novices are nice horses. The first one (Iliko D’Olivate) is going to want plenty of time, Rare Middleton is green but knows his job and jumps well and felt like a nice horse and so did the last one. He handled the ground well and apart from a little scare at the first, he jumped well and was very straightforward after that.

“When you’re riding for someone like Paul Nicholls, the job is a lot easier because if something goes wrong you’ve got the next one to put it right.

“I’m sure it would be a lot harder riding for someone else who doesn’t have the same strike-rate.”

‘He’s riding out of his skin’ – Cobden caps big week in style

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The Paul Nicholls yard have lavished praise on stable jockey Harry Cobden, who added another Grade One to his tally on Hermes Allen on Saturday to go with his King George success on Bravemansgame on Boxing Day.

Cobden chose to stick to the inside on Hermes Allen in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury, while many of his rivals elected to inspect the rest of the track for better ground.

While it would have made seemingly no difference given the ease of his win, Nicholls’ assistant Charlie Davies felt it was yet another example of just how well Cobden is currently riding.

“Harry is riding out of his skin. We were talking in the car the other day, me and Paul, and saying he has got to be one of the best jockeys riding in England today,” said Davies.

“He has really come of age this season and is a huge part of the team. We are very lucky to have him riding for us.”

As for the Gold Cup-bound Bravemansgame, a 13th King George winner for Nicholls, Davies said: “He has come out of it great. Scot’s (Marshall) delighted with him. We are really, really happy and he will hopefully go to Cheltenham with a big chance.

“It is difficult, isn’t it? People have cribbed him in the press this week about how he won’t act around Cheltenham.

“He’s been there once and didn’t perform to his top marks, but he has only been there once and is a bigger, stronger, better horse. He relaxes well, he jumps brilliantly, and I don’t think there is absolutely any reason why he wouldn’t go round there.”

Bravemansgame makes it another King George to remember for Paul Nicholls

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Paul Nicholls was proved spot-on in his assertion that Bravemansgame is a tailor-made for the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase as he provided him with a record 13th victory in the Boxing Day showpiece.

The seven-year-old was a brilliant winner of the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on this day 12 months ago, since when a return to Kempton for the big one has been top of his agenda.

Bravemansgame had been at the top of ante-post lists for the King George for some time – but despite his comeback victory in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, he was not favourite come the off, with that honour going to Venetia Williams’ L’Homme Presse (9-4), who was out to supplement a fine weight-carrying victory in Newcastle’s Rehearsal Chase last month.

Bravemansgame’s stablemate Frodon, the King George hero of 2020, gave his usual bold sight in front for much of the three-mile journey, but began to give way turning for home and at the top of the home straight it became clear it was going to develop into a straight shootout between the big two.

L’Homme Presse held a narrow advantage approaching the third fence from the finish, but Bravemansgame (11-4) and Harry Cobden mastered him between the last two two and was in command when L’Homme Presse unseated Charlie Deutsch at the final obstacle.

In the end it was L’Homme Presse’s stablemate Royale Pagaille who finished best of the rest, some 14 lengths adrift of the brilliant winner. Frodon was third, another four and quarter lengths back.

Cobden said: “It means a lot. The last one I won was in 2018 (Clan Des Obeaux) and I definitely didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have done. It sounds a bit silly, but now I’m 23 I appreciate these big days as they don’t come around that often.

“He was a bit behind the bridle and L’Homme Presse kept jumping across us which wasn’t ideal and we were getting carried out. I didn’t want to get him amongst it. Although we went the furthest route and we were getting a bit of hassle off the other one sometimes it is best to keep it simple.

“I knew he was going to be the one to beat turning in so I thought we would get a lead off him as long as possible. I then tried to pin him down the inside a bit so he couldn’t take us right across the track.

“He is a fantastic horse and it is a great day. I was just hoping we would get over the last. He got over it and stayed on very well. Yeah (will get the Gold Cup trip), it looks like he wants it.”

Paul Nicholls (left), Harry Cobden (centre left) and owner Bryan Drew (second right)
Paul Nicholls (left), Harry Cobden (centre left) and owner Bryan Drew (second right) (John Walton/PA)

Nicholls confirmed Bravemansgame would now head straight to the Gold Cup.

He said: “It was a hell of a race. They went a good gallop and old Frodon gave them a good lead. He stayed on strong then and showed his strengths. He is just a maturing horse and we have trained him for today.

“We will go straight to Cheltenham now and we won’t run him before the Gold Cup. On better ground he travels better than he did today, but he dug deep and stayed on. The other horse was a little unfortunate to lose his pilot, but he was beaten by then.

“I’m thrilled. Who knows (what would have happened if L’Homme Presse had not come to grief at the last), but he wasn’t stopping. He just jumped to the front and he would have been hard to go by. You can never be certain, but it looked that way to me watching. I’m lucky enough to have the horses good enough to do it and the capability of a team that is good enough to get them right on the day.”

Charlie Deutsch is unseated from L'Homme Press at the final fence
Charlie Deutsch is unseated from L’Homme Press at the final fence (John Walton/PA)

Williams said of Royale Pagaille and L’Homme Presse: “It’s a shame as it looked as though they were going to be second and third, but they’ve both run very well – I’m proud of both of them today. Paul’s horse has won today but there’ll be more races in which they meet and hopefully we’ll come out on top when they do.”

Bryony Frost said of Frodon: “He never lets me down and if we’re going to go down, we go down fighting. He’s unbelievable, his stamina is much better after his wind op which really helped him.

“The way he’s jumped there is fantastic and he’s really served it up to them and he loses nothing in defeat. He’s absolutely phenomenal, we were able to get out in front and do what we do best and the younger legs have just gone by him. But he’s awesome and I can’t fault him.”