Warwick Saturday

ONLY three runners lined up for the Grade 2 Hampton Novices’ Chase, but with Kauto Star fourth Golan Fortune setting a strong pace under Kielan Woods, it was a test at the trip, both of jumping and stamina. In the end, Next Destination (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden) proved his credentials under a penalty for his win in the Grade 2 John Francome at Newbury.

The nine-year-old didn’t look entirely at ease on the track, tending to edge out to his right at his fences and on the run-in, but he found plenty when it was needed to withhold the challenge of the frustrating Fiddlerontheroof (Colin Tizzard/Jonjo O’Neill Jr) by a length and a half, with the pacesetter a further five lengths away.

This was a seventh track win for Next Destination, and a fifth blacktype success having won twice at Grade 1 level as a novice hurdler for Willie Mullins. His trainer has entered him in the Festival Novices’ Chase (what was the RSA), the National Hunt Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle.

Runner-up

The runner-up hasn’t really progressed from a promising chase debut, having looked a top-notch prospect last season, but has been running to a very useful level, so giving him 5lb means that Next Destination needs to enter calculations for whichever race he runs in.

In fairness to Fiddlerontheroof, perhaps it’s harsh to judge him given his stable’s lengthy losing sequence (now just two from 50 since the middle of December), but he’s lost much of the lustre he had when winning the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle just a year ago.

Golan Fortune has taken well to fences under professional handling, and he would have been much closer but for a mistake at the third last when going as well as either of his opponents. He is being considered for the Grand National by trainer Phil Middleton.

THE Grade 2 Leamington Novices’ Hurdle was a notably open affair, with seven of the 11 runners trading at single-figure odds a few minutes before the off.

As is often the case, however, a late market move proved decisive, as Adrimel (Tom Lacey/Richard Johnson) hardened into 7/2 favourite having been easy to back throughout the day.

The Tirwanako gelding was stepping up in trip and wearing cheekpieces for the first time, and he responded well to an aggressive ride, leading at the second, and although various rivals lined up to tackle him from the final turn, he kept finding more for Johnson’s urgings.

In the end, he had just enough to beat Mint Condition (Jennie Candlish/Kielan Woods), who produced the last and strongest challenge, by a neck. Make Me A Believer (David Pipe/Tom Scudamore) had come with a sustained run from before the penultimate flight, but could never quite get on terms, losing second on the run-in, but still only losing out by half a length.

Adrimel needs to improve markedly on the ratings if he’s to play a big part in the Ballymore at Cheltenham in March, and while this was a smashing contest to watch, the narrow margins preclude it being rated as form.

Winning trainer Tom Lacey was inclined to think that his winner may need even further on good ground, and if he does run at Cheltenham, the Albert Bartlett is arguably the favoured option.

Winning

Mint Condition has progressed well given testing ground this winter, and this was another career best.

He’s been winning handicaps, and another small rise to 138 after this means that he’s almost certain to make the cut in either the Coral Cup or Martin Pipe should Jennie Candlish want to race at Cheltenham, although the evidence to date suggests that he might be better saved for Uttoxeter on the day after the Festival unless it comes up testing at Prestbury Park.

Third Classic win for King

ALAN King freely admits that Warwick is his favourite racecourse, and he landed back-to-back runnings of the McCoy Contractors Civil Engineering Classic Chase with D’Argent and West End Rocker around a decade ago.

He continued his love affair with the marathon chase by saddling the improving Notachance (Tom Cannon) to win the latest running after a stirring battle with the Venetia Williams-trained Achille (Charlie Deutsch). The margin of victory was half a length, with Le Breuil (Ben Pauling/Kielan Woods) staying on having been outpaced to finish a six-length third.

Notachance travelled and jumped well on the whole, and he responded well to pressure, looking likely to come out second best when Achille was produced from off the pace to dispute the lead off the final turn, but he was tenacious when challenged and rallied to win narrowly as he and the runner-up pulled away.

Finish

Le Breuil lost a handy pitch on the final circuit, but to his credit he kept boxing away, and was going on at the finish without looking in any way unfortunate. It will be hard to get him into the Grand National off a mark of 140, and Ben Pauling is running out of options to get him reassessed before the weights are compiled.

Notachance had been laid out for this after winning the Duchess of Westminster Memorial Handicap Chase at Bangor in November, his trainer avoiding the temptation of throwing him into the Welsh National at such an early stage of his chasing career, and the seven-year-old looks the type to win more races at extreme trips on this showing, with the Scottish National a race which King would love to win, and a more realistic target this year than the Grand National itself.

Sly leen-ing towards Aintree

Market Rasen Saturday

MUCH of the interest at Market Rasen on Saturday centred around the participation of the Willie Mullins-trained Grangee in the Listed Alan Swinbank Mares’ Bumper, but while she ran well in her bid to win the prize for the yard for the second successive year, she had to settle for third behind Eileendover (Pam Sly/Paul O’Brien) and Miss Lamb (Jedd O’Keeffe/Joe Colliver), with the former running out a convincing winner.

The winner has looked the type who would do well on the flat given her pedigree, and her trainer has all but ruled out a trip to Cheltenham in March, nominating the Nickel Coin Mares Bumper at Aintree in April as her immediate target.

Pam Sly has been training with great success from her family farm near Peterborough since 1975, and Eileendover is very much a family story, the mare is owned by Pam and her son Michael, bred in partnership with him, and is out of a daughter of the family’s 1000 Guineas winner Speciosa, who won the Newmarket classic in the same silks that Eileendover sported here, and which were previously registered to Sly’s late father (M S Smith).

Success

It also bears mentioning that the runner-up also comes from a very good family belonging to the former trainer Sally Hall. Sally enjoyed tremendous success with many members of the ‘Lamb’ family, and only retired from training herself in 2017, having held a licence since 1968.