THE weights are unveiled today for the £250,000 G3 Ladbrokes Trophy, the highlight of the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday, December 2nd.
Topping the weights on 11st 12lb is the 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Coneygree (Mark Bradstock, 16/1 with Ladbrokes). A half-brother to 2011 Ladbrokes Trophy hero Carruthers, Coneygree was pulled-up on his seasonal reappearance in the G2 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on November 4th when sustaining an overreach but connections have subsequently revealed that the Ladbrokes Trophy could be a target for the 10-year-old. Second in the weights on 11st 11lb is Smad Place (Alan King, 20/1), winner of the Ladbrokes Trophy in 2015 and right back to form when successful in the G2 Old Roan Chase at Aintree on October 29th.
Sharing favouritism at 8/1 with Ladbrokes are American (Harry Fry, 11st 4lb), who was impressive in winning all three of his starts last season and Total Recall (Willie Mullins IRE, 10st 8lb), successful in the JT McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National Handicap Chase at Limerick on October 8th. Willie Mullins, Ireland's champion Jump trainer, could also be represented by Acapella Bourgeois (10st 12lb, 16/1), a Group 2 scorer last season for former trainer Sandra Hughes plus Childrens List (10st 9lb, 33/1), Pleasant Company (10st 9lb, 33/1) and Polidam (9st 13lb).
Noel Meade is considering a tilt at the race with A Genie In Abottle (10st 13lb, 20/1). The progressive six-year-old, who is owned by Gigginstown House Stud, was a talented novice last season and ended the campaign with a good third behind stablemate Disko in a Group 1 contest at the Punchestown Festival.
A Genie In Abottle has a 100% record from two starts this season, most recently defeating Tiger Roll (Gordon Elliott IRE, 10st 13lb, 25/1) by a length and a half in a listed contest over just shy of three miles at Wexford on October 30th.
Meade said today: "The Ladbrokes Trophy is a possibility for A Genie In Abottle and I certainly wouldn't rule it out, but I will have to discuss it with the owners.
"He has come out of Wexford good, so we will see how he is between now and Newbury and see what we think.
"He likes soft ground and looks to have the right sort of profile for the Ladbrokes Trophy."
Ladbrokes Trophy - Ladbrokes prices: 8/1 American, Total Recall; 12/1 Singlefarmpayment, Whisper; 16/1 Acapella Bourgeois, Coneygree, Definitly Red; 20/1 A Genie In Abottle , Alpha des Obeaux, O O Seven, Smad Place, Yala Enki; 25/1 Beware The Bear, Emerging Force, Mala Beach, Missed Approach, Polidam, Southfield Royale, Tiger Roll, Virgilio, Vyta du Roc.
Deadline
There is a scratchings deadline for the Ladbrokes Trophy on November 14th, with the five-day confirmation stage on Monday, November 27th.
The inaugural Ladbrokes Winter Carnival featuring the Ladbrokes Trophy, formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup, takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd December 2017. The new sponsorship from Ladbrokes brings with it a larger prize pot for this year's contenders with the two days now worth a total of £700,000 in prize money. The Ladbrokes Trophy alone has prize money of £250,000, an increase of £50,000 on 2016.
Since the handicap chase was first run as the Hennessy Gold Cup in 1957, it has become one of the major highlights of the jump season with so many memorable performances over the last 60 years from the likes of Mill House, Arkle, Denman, Many Clouds and last year's impressive winner, Native River.
The Ladbrokes Trophy
Grade 3 handicap chase, £250,000 total prize fund. Newbury, Saturday, December 2. Three miles and two furlongs (3m 1f 214y).
Horse Age Wgt Owner Trainer
CONEYGREE 10 11-12 The Max Partnership Mark Bradstock
SMAD PLACE (FR) 10 11-11 Mrs Peter Andrews Alan King
DEFINITLY RED (IRE) 8 11-05 Mr P J Martin Brian Ellison
SIZING CODELCO (IRE) 8 11-05 Ann & Alan Potts Limited Colin Tizzard
AMERICAN (FR) 7 11-04 The Jago Family Partnership Harry Fry
WHISPER (FR) 9 11-04 Walters Plant Hire Ltd Nicky Henderson
PTIT ZIG (FR) 8 11-03 Barry Fulton & Chris Giles Paul Nicholls
CAROLE'S DESTRIER 9 11-01 Mrs C Skipworth Neil Mulholland
SHANTOU FLYER (IRE) 7 11-01 Carl Hinchy Richard Hobson
THEATRE GUIDE (IRE) 10 11-01 Jean Bishop Colin Tizzard
TRAFFIC FLUIDE (FR) 7 11-00 Galloping On The South Downs Partnership Gary Moore
LABEL DES OBEAUX (FR) 6 11-00 David Sewell & Terry Warner Alan King
VIEUX LION ROUGE (FR) 8 10-13 Prof Caroline Tisdall & Mr John Gent David Pipe
PERFECT CANDIDATE (IRE) 10 10-13 ISL Recruitment Fergal O'Brien
LORD SCOUNDREL (IRE) 8 10-13 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE
TIGER ROLL (IRE) 7 10-13 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE
O O SEVEN (IRE) 7 10-13 Christopher Hanbury Nicky Henderson
A GENIE IN ABOTTLE (IRE) 6 10-13 Gigginstown House Stud Noel Meade IRE
ACAPELLA BOURGEOIS (FR) 7 10-12 Slaneyville Syndicate Willie Mullins IRE
YALA ENKI (FR) 7 10-12 Hills of Ledbury (Aga) Venetia Williams
VICENTE (FR) 8 10-11 Trevor Hemmings Paul Nicholls
ROAD TO RICHES (IRE) 10 10-11 Gigginstown House Stud Noel Meade IRE
REGAL ENCORE (IRE) 9 10-11 J P McManus Anthony Honeyball
DOUBLE TREASURE 6 10-11 Sir Chips Keswick Jamie Snowden
ALPHA DES OBEAUX (FR) 7 10-11 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE
ROI DES FRANCS (FR) 8 10-11 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE
MALA BEACH (IRE) 9 10-10 C Jones Gordon Elliott IRE
ROYAL VACATION (IRE) 7 10-10 Mrs Jean R Bishop Colin Tizzard
VIRGILIO (FR) 8 10-10 C J Edwards, D Futter, A H Rushworth Dan Skelton
AS DE MEE (FR) 7 10-10 The Stewart Family & Judi Dench Paul Nicholls
CHILDRENS LIST (IRE) 7 10-09 Susannah Ricci Willie Mullins IRE
PLEASANT COMPANY (IRE) 9 10-09 Malcolm Denmark Willie Mullins IRE
TOTAL RECALL (IRE) 8 10-08 Slaneyville Syndicate Willie Mullins IRE
SINGLEFARMPAYMENT 7 10-08 N T Griffith & H M Haddock Tom George
DOUBLE ROSS (IRE) 11 10-08 Options O Syndicate Nigel Twiston-Davies
OUR KAEMPFER (IRE) 8 10-07 Swanee River Partnership Charlie Longsdon
BEWARE THE BEAR (IRE) 7 10-07 G B Barlow Nicky Henderson
MISSED APPROACH (IRE) 7 10-06 Alan & Andrew Turner Warren Greatrex
THUNDER AND ROSES (IRE) 9 10-06 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE
BIGBADJOHN (IRE) 8 10-05 Nigel Morris Rebecca Curtis
CHAMPERS ON ICE (IRE) 7 10-04 Professor Caroline Tisdall & Bryan Drew David Pipe
KILCARRY BRIDGE (IRE) 10 10-04 Darraugh's Choice Syndicate John Ryan IRE
PRESENT MAN (IRE) 7 10-03 Woodhouse & Sutton Paul Nicholls
GENERAL PRINCIPLE (IRE) 8 10-02 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE
VYTA DU ROC (FR) 8 10-01 Simon Munir & Isaac Souede Nicky Henderson
WOUNDED WARRIOR (IRE) 8 10-00 Gigginstown House Stud Noel Meade IRE
VIC DE TOUZAINE (FR) 8 10-00 A Brooks & G Moore Venetia Williams
BRAQUEUR D'OR (FR) 6 10-00 Corsellis & Seyfried Paul Nicholls
FLINTHAM 8 10-00 The Rasher Partnership Mark Bradstock
COGRY 8 10-00 Graham and Alison Jelley Nigel Twiston-Davies
EMERGING FORCE (IRE) 7 9-13 Webb Holt Carpenter Tucker Harry Whittington
POTTERS LEGEND 7 9-13 Mrs J May Lucy Wadham
POLIDAM (FR) 8 9-13 Simon Munir/Isaac Souede Willie Mullins IRE
SOUTHFIELD ROYALE 7 9-13 Angela Yeoman Neil Mulholland
PILGRIMS BAY (IRE) 7 9-12 Clifford, Gosden & House Neil Mulholland
ROGUE ANGEL (IRE) 9 9-10 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE
DARK FLAME (IRE) 8 9-08 The Encore Partnership III Richard Rowe
VINO GRIEGO (FR) 12 9-08 C E Stedman Gary Moore
VALUE AT RISK 8 9-06 D M Huglin Dan Skelton
ANTONY (FR) 7 9-05 The Winning Hand Gary Moore
60 entries
17 Irish-trained
SHARING OPTIONS: