RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)

SELDOM was the crucial climb to the line at Cheltenham as important as it was in the staying novices’ championship where Champ came from out of clouds to deny Minella Indo and Allaho.

The Nicky Henderson-trained eight-year-old has long looked a horse of huge potential and his first three starts over fences suggested as much but that had also indicated that Champ (4/1) had some jumping frailties. Indeed Champ came here off a nasty fall at this track on New Year’s Day. However, the innate ability that has made Barry Geraghty a colossus of the weigh room for so long was yet again in evidence as he and the J.P. McManus-owned gelding pulled off an improbable success.

Old rivals Allaho and Minella Indo cut out the running and both produced an impressive turn of foot to leave a well grouped pack toiling off the last bend. At this point it seemed as though Minella Indo might have the measure of Allaho but the outcome was far from clear at the last where both horses made mistakes.

Champ was at least six lengths down in third at the time and looked booked for a minor role but as the leaders laboured up the hill he sprouted wings and charged home to lead in the final strides and deny Minella Indo by a length with Allaho the same distance back in third. A victory in this race always has thoughts turning to the following year’s Gold Cup and the manner in which this relation to Best Mate finished his race would suggest that the extra couple of furlongs of the holy grail of staying chasing will surely play to his strengths.

“I enjoyed watching the race for most of the way but turning for home I thought he was going to finish an honourable third. Then all of a sudden he came into sight after the last and he finished so well,” declared Henderson. “He’s a horse with a wonderful temperament and attitude and the fall he had back here in January didn’t seem to affect him at all. I would have liked to have gotten another run into him but there wasn’t a suitable race and Nico has done a great job on him at home and even schooled him yesterday morning. Everyone works so hard for days like this and Nico should take a lot of the credit for this.”

For Geraghty this moved him on to the 40-winner mark for the Festival and reflected: “I was on the back foot all the way. The ground is quite tacky and I thought it was all about trying to get him into a rhythm. In fairness to both of them Nicky and Nico have done a huge amount of work with this horse. I thought that I had no chance jumping the last but about three strides after the last I could start to smell the money.”

Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)

ON a day when the floodgates opened for J.P. McManus, Dame De Compagnie bore out the view that she could be the best handicapped horse in the race as she won this ferociously competitive with something to spare.

The subject of a successful handicapping appeal last month which saw her revised rating of 142 for a victory at this track three months previously reduced back to a mark 140, this seven-year-old mare was justifying 5/1 favouritism.

In victory she became only the second favourite to win this race since Olympian in 1993, while she was giving McManus a first Coral Cup victory since Fran Berry and Khayrawani obliged in 1999.

Frantic finishes

A trademark of this race is frantic finishes with the complexion changing dramatically from the turn in to the line but the way in which Dame De Compagnie was travelling after two out lent a certain inevitability to the outcome.

Black Tears made a bold bid for Davy Russell and Gordon Elliott and she held a narrow lead over the last but she couldn’t match the Barry Geraghty-ridden winner on the run in as that one forged on to prevail by two and a quarter lengths. Thosedaysaregone was a further two and a half lengths back with a resurgent Cracking Smart fourth.

“The injuries and things that Barry has had over the years and the number of good rides that he has missed. These wise old owls are pretty good guys and I am genuinely thrilled for him because he has been great for the game and he still works. Between him and all the team, it is a bit unreal,” observed the winning trainer.