This is a subscriber-only article
It looks like you're browsing in private mode
SLATE House is the new favourite for next Saturday's BetVictor Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
Colin Tizzard’s seven-year-old emerged from a spell in the doldrums to win at Cheltenham’s first meeting in October, and has been prominent in the betting for Saturday’s big handicap ever since.
“We had this mind throughout the summer,” said assistant trainer Joe Tizzard. “Last season, he was out of form because he damaged himself in the novice hurdle at Aintree, so he never got turned out – he was on box rest throughout the summer.
“He was always on a bit of catch-up last season. We felt he ended up getting quite a nice mark, which we possibly lost at Cheltenham last time.
“We thought we would go to Cheltenham first time out and bump into one and not get handicapped accordingly – but it is a good job the performance at Cheltenham was visually very good. We expected him to run well, but not do what he did.”
Topping the weights is Harry Whittington’s Saint Calvados, another to win at the October meeting.
Nicky Henderson’s Casablanca Mix, Festival winner Siruh Du Lac and Dan Skelton’s Spiritofthegames are others towards the head of the weights.
Henderson said of his mare: “We’ve only left in Casablanca Mix in the hope that it will continue to dry out a bit. O O Seven is not quite ready for the race.
“She won the Summer Plate at Market Rasen. If it can stay dry that would help. She has gone up in the weights, so she has got to come into races like this. She is a good mare. That summer race always takes a lot of winning. She has had a break since then, and she has been back home.”
There is one possible runner from Ireland, Joseph O’Brien’s Arkle runner-up Us And Them. Knocknanuss, Belami Des Pictons, Guitar Pete, Eamon An Cnoic and Splash Of Ginge are among others left in.
GREATWOOD ENTRIES
Prolific juvenile winner Quel Destin and 2017 County Hurdle scorer Mohaayed head the weights among 19 confirmations for the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle a Cheltenham on Sunday.
Quel Destin, trained by Paul Nicholls, won five times last term and got off to a good start this campaign with victory on this course last month.
Nicholls also has Red Force One in the reckoning as he looks to win Sunday’s valuable event for a fourth time.
The Dan Skelton-trained Mohaayed has been beaten in the Greatwood for the last two years, and was last of 10 in the Welsh Champion Hurdle on his return.
Monsieur Lecoq, who won that Ffos Las feature, is among the possibles for Jane Williams – as is recent all the Ascot winner Gumball, from the Philip Hobbs stable.
Nicky Henderson has cut his entries down to just two – last season’s County Hurdle third Countister and Dame De Compagnie, who has been absent since winning a listed mares’ novices’ hurdle at Cheltenham in April 2018.
“They both worked very well on Saturday,” said Henderson. “They are both JP’s (McManus, owner), but he is quite happy to run them both if that is the case.
There are two Irish-trained possibles – Tony Martin’s Golden Spear and Hannon, from John McConnell’s stable.
SHARING OPTIONS: