Cheltenham Saturday

THE Caspian Caviar Gold Cup tends to be a very competitive handicap, unsurprising, given its Grade 3 status, and that looked the case again this year, but the contest was blown open by the novice Chatham Street Lad, who scored a memorable win for the popular Mick Winters.

Winters always brings an element of unalloyed enjoyment to the post-race party, and in a year when there has been precious little to celebrate, his antics brought a smile to many faces when celebrating by rolling on the turf of the winners’ enclosure.

Mick has had plenty of success over the years, but this was a career highlight for rider Darragh O’Keeffe, who wasn’t thinking of future handicapping opportunities as he allowed his mount – sent off at 16/1 – to career 15 lengths clear in the style of one who had joined in at halfway. Midnight Shadow (Sue Smith/Ryan Mania) ran a fine race for second, and was in turn a dozen lengths clear of Benatar (Gary/Jamie Moore) in third.

The winner was adding to wins in handicap chase company at Ballinrobe and Cork. The first of those wins same off the modest mark of 118, and his new IHRB rating is 151, a stone higher than before Cheltenham, while his BHA mark on Saturday was 141, and he can expect to be a few pounds higher than his Irish mark should he return for another handicap outing on these shores.

He is, of course, still a novice, and would have obvious claims of making the frame in the Golden Miller (Marsh) Chase at the Festival, although Winters and owner Vivian Healy are reportedly keen to ignore ‘Irish banker’ Envoi Allen.

JOHN McConnell’s Make Good put his name in the hat for the Albert Bartlett in March by landing this Grade 2 namesake contest under Richard Johnson.

A facile winner of a two-mile novice handicap at Gowran Park on his previous start, the five-year-old gelding faced stiffer opposition as well as a thorough test of his unproven stamina, and he came through with flying colours, scoring a seven-length success from Pats Fancy (Rebecca Curtis/Adam Wedge) and Ask A Honey Bee (Fergal O’Brien/Connor Brace).

With favourite Ashtown Lad failing to see things out, this was probably a shallow contest for the grade, but connections of the winner – an unusual sort for a Festival novice in that he raced 29 times on the flat, including when winning over six furlongs as a juvenile – are entitled to dream.

McConnell said: “We were thrilled with him. On ratings he had a chance and he’s really a two-mile flat horse, so we were hopeful he’d stay three miles over hurdles and maybe even improve for it.

“He’s fully entitled to go for the Albert Bartlett, and there’s a very good chance he will.

“Whether we put him away and just have one race beforehand, or whether we’ll try and cherry-pick a few races, we’ll see.”