feature | festival trials day
Defi Du Seuil ridden by Barry Geraghty
bumper trials day action
r a c e g o e r s e n j o y e d a b u m p e r n i n e - r a c e c a r d a t f e s t i v a l t r i a l s d a y. m a r t i n k e l ly r e c a l l s a n e m o t i o n a l d a y
R acegoers on Trials Day flocked to Prestbury Park attracted by a bumper nine-race card and the tantalising prospect of seeing ante-post Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Thistlecrack enhance his already huge reputation. With Ascot having been abandoned the previous week, the
up to Thistlecrack in the Betbright Trial Cotswold Chase and put in a career-best to lower the colours of the King George winner.The 10-year-old was strongly challenged over the final two fences by Thistlecrack and the 4/9 favourite had every chance, but Many Clouds was not for passing and held on to score by a head, with the front pair pulling some 17 lengths clear of Smad Place.
his best. Another crowd-pleaser was also in action as Un De Sceaux captured the rearranged Clarence House Chase under Ruby Walsh. The former tearaway front-runner is much more composed these days and having found only Sprinter Sacre too good in the Champion Chase last March, he was a warm order and started the 1/2 favourite on the back of a Tingle Creek success. Willie Mullins’s raider bounded away from Uxizandre to win by five lengths and was to return to Cheltenham a few weeks later and follow up in tremendous style in the Ryanair Chase. Un De Sceaux was one of two winners who returned for Festival success, the other being the ultra-remarkable Defi Du Seuil who landed odds of 1/5 in the JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial for jockey Barry Geraghty and trainer Philip Hobbs. It was another facile win for JP McManus’s youngster who went on to prove himself the best of his generation with wins back at
Cheltenham and Aintree, ending the season unbeaten in seven starts.Those present on Trials Day may have seen a future Champion Hurdle candidate. McManus’s colours were also carried by another winning machine in Unowhatimeanharry after he obliged as the odds-on favourite in the galliardhomes.com Cleeve Hurdle. Harry Fry’s nine-year-old has been a huge success story for his trainer, rising from a handicapper to win at the 2016 Festival, and he was winning for the third time during the current season when seeing former Stayers’ Hurdle winner Cole Harden under Barry Geraghty. McManus was out of luck in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase as 11/8 favourite Cantlow – trained in Ireland by the banks course maestro Enda Bolger – was relegated into second place by French raider Urgent De Gregaine who caused a 50/1 shock under Felix De Giles. Having started his career in the UK, De
Giles is now based in France and steered the outsider to a very comfortable success. Royal Vacation had been gifted a Grade One race at Kempton over the Christmas period when Might Bite fell but he won a race in his own right when reverting back to handicap company for Thistlecrack’s trainer Colin Tizzard. Paddy Brennan was aboard in the colours of Cue Card’s owner Jean Bishop and the horse made a mockery of his handicap mark in what was a hard race with six of the 14 runners failing to complete. A Cheltenham meeting lacking a prominent showing from local trainer Nigel Twiston- Davies is a rarity and he doubled up on the afternoon with wins for Foxtail Hill and Wholestone. The former was a 12/1 winner of a handicap chase while the latter was winning at the track for the third time of the season when comfortably scoring as the 11/4 favourite in the Neptune Investment Management Classic Novices’ Hurdle.
Thistlecrack had been beaten, a shock many did not see coming, but thoughts after the race were very much with Oliver Sherwood and all at his Rhonehurst yard after Many Clouds collapsed following his gallant effort. Sherwood spoke so brilliantly after the loss of Many Clouds who should rightly be remembered for his heroic on-track performances.The
Clarence House Chase was transferred on to the card, along with November’s cross country race which had been called off at the time due to quick ground conditions. The stage was set for an unforgettable afternoon and two subsequent
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diary dates Festival Trials Day, January 27, 2018
Festival winners were to strike, but the day was overshadowed by the loss of a real jumps star in the shape of 2015 Randox Health Grand National winner Many Clouds. Oliver Sherwood’s National hero faced
winner of nine of his 18 starts over fences, Many Clouds earned nearly £1 million in prize money and even though his National win defined him, his last race was easily
Jamie Bargary rides winner Foxtail Hill in The Hugo’s Restaurant Barbados Trophy Steeple Chase
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