Headlines
John Sports winning Colours at Ascot
Cilaos Emery lands Red Mills Hurdle
Report
We start at Ascot on Saturday where in the 2m 3f novice hurdle Sporting John ( Cliff), went to post, jumped well, tracked leader, led 2 out, over 3 lengths ahead last, stayed on strongly to go further clear run-in, winning impressively by 6 1/2l. He gets 34.2 points.
At Gowran Park in the 2m grade 3 hurdle, Cialos Emery ( Cliff), took his chance, Tracked leaders, pecked 4th, 3rd halfway, slight mistake 3 out, challenged wide into straight and led before next, pushed along and 3 lengths clear before last, stayed on well run-in winning by 9 ½ l. He gets 52.4 points.
The John Torpey Memorial Trophy
Feb Total
Steve 102.6 584.6
Peej 12 550.2
Bob 41.3 532.8
Cliff 119.2 528.2
Tony 53.3 495.9
Neil 41.3 439.2
Martin 64.7 361.2
Cod 12 336.5
News
Cilaos Emery is to be supplemented for the Unibet Champion Hurdle following his victory at Gowran Park on Saturday.The eight-year-old's easy win in the Grade Three Red Mills Trial Hurdle has persuaded trainer Willie Mullins to throw Cilaos Emery into the mix for the two-mile championship at the Cheltenham Festival.
"The plan is to supplement, costing £22,500, Cilaos Emery for the Champion Hurdle," said the Closutton handler.
Gordon Elliott was delighted with Tiger Roll as the dual Grand National hero finished fifth to stablemate Cracking Smart on his return to action in the Ladbrokes Ireland Boyne Hurdle at Navan. Sent off at 9/1, he travelled strongly at the rear of the field for much of the contest and briefly threatened to take a hand in the finish going to the second last but began to tire soon after..
Grand Slam
The next leg of the Grand Slam is Cheltenham, so you can add 1 extra horse to your string, that is not currently in any string. Submissions to me by close of play SUNDAY 8TH March, and I will publish them on the Monday
Grand Slam Leg 1
Neil
Leg 2
Tony
Cheltenham Preview,
Top Trainers talk to the Punter
Gordon Elliott is first up , sharing his thoughts on his Cheltenham hopefuls,
"Delta Work will be our runner in the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup. I don't think he has done too much wrong over the last couple of seasons. He was lame after Down Royal and the only real time he has been beat was in the RSA last year. It just did not work out on the day.
"I would say the mistake I made last year was not running him between Christmas and Cheltenham. He only does what he has to do and if you look at his form, he is better with runs behind him. Last season, he just beat Ben Dundee in Down Royal and then got better and better. "I think he is made for the Gold Cup. His style of racing will suit and so will the trip. We are lucky to have these good horses that people like talking about, but he probably gets forgotten about a bit. He has won five or six G1s and is a great little horse. We are lucky to have him. He is not a big, robust horse, but he is a fair one. The one thing about him is that he stays. I love him.
Envoi Allen (Ballymore Hurdle)is in great form. Keith [Donoghue] rides him everyday and could not be happier. He missed the Dublin Racing Festival as well as he'd already had three runs over hurdles and I did not think there was much to gain by going there. He may have a go in a schooling hurdle over the next 10 days."I don't know what all this chat is about him being a hype horse. He has done it himself by winning three G1s. I don't talk about any horse; it is you guys [the media] who talk about them. "He is a good horse and, listen, there is always more pressure when you go with the likes of him. We don't hype them up, but we think he is a very good horse. I suppose if you win seven out of seven, people are inclined to talk about you, aren't they? "He never does anymore than he has to. Even working him, if you paired him with a 95-rated horse, not that we work him to beat another horse, he would only do what he has to do."
Tiger Roll and Out Sam will run in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. I was very happy with the way Tiger Roll ran on Sunday and, as you saw this morning, he has come out of the race very well. He would be the one horse we are all looking forward to during Cheltenham week. "I actually thought that, given the ground, he would not run as well as he did on Sunday, as he had only been back cantering since 1 January. I thought he showed a lot of zest and jumped very well. He looked the winner between the third and second last, and then got tired. It was great to see him back and running so well. "He will probably go over to Cheltenham now for a school [over the cross country course] and then it will be all systems go for The Festival. "We are very lucky to have a horse like him. The odds are against him in the Grand National - four and a quarter miles, 30 fences and 40 runners. I am not worried about top weight. The handicapper had his job to do and he can't have done any more than that.
Samcro has an entry [in the Champion Hurdle], but if he goes to Cheltenham, it will be for the Marsh Novices' Chase. He has had a wind operation since Limerick and, although we were disappointed on the day, he was beaten by a good horse. We had problems with him last season not scoping right and he did not scope great after Limerick. He is a very hard horse to keep right. He is working well and looks great, so we will give it a go. I would prefer the ground to be on the better side for him."
The ground was quick enough for Fury Road at the Dublin Racing Festival [finished fourth]. He wasn't actually beaten that far, and I think three miles in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle on softer ground, you will see a different horse.
Nicky Henderson
"I would like to think that Shishkin is one of our best chances of the week. He is a genuine two miler. The Sky Bet Supreme is a nice race to win if you can because it gets the ball rolling and the pressure off a bit. "I think Shishkin is very good and in his bumper and novice hurdle, he has looked very efficient. He has got to prove himself yet and this will be a much bigger test, but visually he has been very impressive. He does not seem to lack experience, as he races very professionally, and then you can press a button [at the finish], which makes life easier for him.
Champ will have a racecourse gallop. He has been doing lots of schooling and seems in cracking form. I would have liked another run, and we were going to go to Kelso but that was off. There was one race left for him at Chepstow, but I did not want to send him there over three miles on testing ground. He will have a school somewhere over fences before Cheltenham."
Pentland Hills,
"We've cauterised his palate since Haydock. It will almost certainly make no difference whatsoever, but it is an effort to make sure everything is in place. "He wants to switch off a little bit more and I think we will drop him in a bit more than we have done. The trouble is he is such a good jumper he is taking you there all the time.
"Both times he has come there and looked like he has come to win his race. I don't think he has done anything wrong. They have just been races in bad ground both times."
Santini "We know he likes Cheltenham, and he has run two cracking races there. His race in the RSA last year was fantastic, because we had a dreadful time with him. We were trotting him up outside, and he had problems with his feet. Then we had flu vaccinations, and he was meant to have a run in the Reynoldstown, and he had no preparation or racecourse experience anything. "I admit he wasn't very impressive first time out at Sandown. We cauterised him after that, and there was no point going to the King George because Kempton is not his track. We had to wait for the Cotswold Chase, and that is where we were always going to go.
"He is just starting work again now and did a bit on Saturday. He is not an Altior at home, but he is a very enthusiastic horse and he loves his work. He needs a lot of work, but the more you get into him the better he is.
"He had a tough enough race at Cheltenham, but he has come back bouncing. He was exactly the opposite to Altior - because whereas from day one you knew he was a rocket, Santini, the first year he was here I said to Richard (Kelvin-Hughes, owner) 'he is not a bumper horse'."He should be a better horse than last season because he is a big, old-fashioned type of chaser. He is hardy, too. Like them all, he needs a good run for the next three weeks.
"All is going well at the moment, and Altior is in good form. He has just had a couple of quiet days since Newbury.
"We will start to tick along and give him a couple of schools soon. We seldom school him, but I think he enjoys it. If you take Newbury as his first run of the season, which you virtually have to, it was perfect. If we were coming into the Tingle Creek or something (next), you would have to say he is spot on.
Might Bite "He will hopefully go for the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. He had not trained with the other horses before Newbury. He had been doing his own thing, jumping all sorts of spooky things around here, and he absolutely loved it. I would like to get two practice sessions into him over the cross country course beforehand."
Floressa is a definite for the Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle. She should have been second at Doncaster. I thought she ran a very good race and the winner, Lady Buttons, is a good mare. I think she has a great chance.
Native River has been ruled out of the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup with a suspensory tendon injury.
Willie Mullins
Al Boum Photo
"We've had no trouble with him this season, so fingers crossed everything stays right between now and the Gold Cup. "We will take him away somewhere to school - we were just discussing that this morning. We'll take him wherever we can get in, just for a day away rather than a hard piece of work."I thought last year's Gold Cup was very tough and I don't think this year looks any tougher. He's in great form anyway and I think his preparation will be good for him - he's going there in good order and in a good frame of mind. "I think he has a fantastic chance. I would assume Paul (Townend) is going to ride him again. The final bits of work will probably dictate that."He's won over the track and everything. If I was Paul, I'd find it very hard to get off him."
Kemboy
"I don't like it when a horse falls at a track, but hopefully he can put that behind him. His two runs this year have been very good. He needed the run at Christmas and I thought his run the other day was fantastic."If he could be in the top three or four, I'd be delighted. I think drier ground would help him and he probably has a better chance of getting that on the last day of the Festival than earlier in the week. "He stayed on well in Leopardstown. He stays well enough, but he has it all to do I think.""David (Mullins) is back riding out. Danny could ride him, David could ride him - we've got a good selection of jockeys. At this stage I'm not too worried about jockeys. I just worry about getting the horses there and we'll see what happens from there."
Chacun Pour Soi
"He needed the race at Christmas and was good the last day - I think he's improving all the time."I'm not worried about Cheltenham for him. He seems to handle any pace and has won at different tracks. For him to take on what he took on in Punchestown last season and do what he did was fantastic. "We just need to get him there now in good shape. The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a spectacular race. Everyone likes to knock off another achievement and it would be great to have it on the CV."
Min
"I'd imagine we'll try to keep him and Chacun Pour Soi apart and run Min in the Ryanair. I don't think he jumped as well as he needed to in Leopardstown the last day, but he still ran a good race and I don't think the longer trip will be any problem for him - he's won over two and a half before. I'd imagine Duc Des Genievres will run in the Ryanair as well."
Cilaos Emery
"Cilaos Emery after his win at Gowran (G3 Red Mulls Trial Hurdle, 15 February) will be supplemented for the Unibet Champion Hurdle. The thinking is that he will have a better chance of being placed in a Champion Hurdle than he would in the Champion Chase.
"The Red Mills race came up, so we said let's see what he can do, and he did it. The prize money won there will go towards the funds for Cheltenham. He was not spectacular in winning in Gowran, but I loved what he did from the third last after making a complete mess of it. He put the race to bed in few strides, which was good enough for me and Luke [McMahon, owner] to make the decision to supplement. It is such an open Champion Hurdle.
"It has been hard to get horses to the race this year - that has been half the battle. When you see the injuries that have beset horses going for the Champion Hurdle, not just here but from other yards as well, it shows just how tough it is getting horses to Cheltenham."
Benie Des Dieux
"Benie Des Dieux is in the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle. She was a very unlucky loser there last year. She is also in the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle. I would like to go back and get a bit of unfinished business done. You are guaranteed softer ground on the first day of The Festival and that is a big plus for her. She is a hell of a mare.
"I thought what she did in France last year [winning French Champion Hurdle] was probably completely missed by people over here. She beat their unbeaten mare De Bon Coeur and in France I don't think they could believe what she did at Auteuil. Had she stood up in Cheltenham last year, maybe things would be different, but then again maybe they would be the same because I am a creature of habit. "I curtailed her chasing career because it is easier to win money and keep them sound over hurdles. She has not raced a lot and that is because I had soundness issues with her. It is all very well planning difficult races for her, but I have got her to a stage now where I can run her two or three times a year, and I would like to stay at that. "If she ever went chasing again, she could line up in a Gold Cup any day of the week. Three miles and two furlongs would not be any trouble to her."
Melon
"Melon will go for the Marsh. He showed us the last day he wants a trip. While his jumping is good, it's not sharp enough for the Arkle. "He has good Festival form without winning - he's been second in the Supreme and in two Champion Hurdles. Maybe we've just been running him over the wrong trip."
"I spoke to Joe Donnelly [owner] about Asterion Forlonge and he said do whatever you want. At the moment, we feel the horse should go for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle and that is where we are headed.
"I had been aiming this horse for the Albert Bartlett. I had two races marked out the first day he ran over hurdles, one in Cork and one in Naas. I decided to run Golden Spread in the three miler at Cork and this fella in the two miler at Naas, so when Golden Spread got beaten out of sight, I said: 'Jesus, not only have I run this horse in the wrong race, now I am going to get the other fella beaten.' I said to Paul on the day, just jump out and make it because this fella shows us no speed at home, and then he bolted in. I said after we would leave him in the two-mile race at Leopardstown, as on good ground that will tell us where to go in Cheltenham, and he answered that question.
Ferny Hollow could go to the Champion Bumper, . He is entered at Fairyhouse this weekend, so we will see what happens there
Ciel De Neige ran a cracker the other day to be second in the Betfair Hurdle, perhaps a shade unlucky. He is in all the handicaps over in Cheltenham. He went up 3lb for Newbury
