RACING needs a lift. It’s been a fairly dark fortnight for the sport, what with Freddy Tylicki, Vautour and Simonsig creating the sort of headlines we dread. Not to mention a tabloid splash about an alleged gang assault involving jockeys. We need a boost, a clash to set the pulse racing and lift the spirits. …[Read More]
AT THE start of the National Hunt season, purists and pundits were licking their lips at the prospect of a so-called “golden generation” of young chasers coming to the fore. The thought of these upwardly mobile, scopey creatures making it to the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup line-up gave goosebumps to those of us drenched in …[Read More]
I LIVE about 45 minutes from Haydock Park and was surprised when Clerk of the Course Kirkland Tellwright assured the racing world last Monday that the Betfair Chase meeting would definitely go ahead. The rain that has fallen in the North West during the past week has been of biblical proportions and there is more …[Read More]
CHRISTMAS during my late teens involved lots of eating, drinking… and feverish speculation about the King George VI Chase. It has always been one of the highlights of my festive fare and watching Desert Orchid dismantle the opposition in the 1980s became a much-loved part of the yuletide routine. Greys and the King George have …[Read More]
PHILIP Hobbs and Richard Johnson can do very little wrong at present. Everything they run has to be respected as the Minehead yard is in stellar form. On Saturday MENORAH came close to providing another big weekend winner when just being outstayed by Silviniaco Conti in the Betfair Chase. This is a race that provides …[Read More]
THERE appears to be a wave of expectation surrounding Jonjo O’Neill this season. Many pundits are tipping him to break the grip that Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson have on the trainers’ championship. In fact, people are now referring to the trio as the “big three” in the training ranks (which is a minor insult …[Read More]
The Cheltenham Festival kicks off 10 weeks tomorrow and the excellent Christmas racing has had a shuddering effect on the ante-post markets. But the brilliant performances of Silviniaco Conti, My Tent Or Yours, Bobs Worth and Hurricane Fly were all overshadowed by the plight of the great Sprinter Sacre. The irregular heartbeat that caused him …[Read More]
NINE runners have been declared for the highlight of the Christmas sporting calendar – the King George VI Chase at Kempton. In its 63rd year, the William Hill-sponsored contest race has a £200,000 prize pot. And bookies can’t seem to separate leading contenders CUE CARD and DYNASTE. Favourites have a good record in the race …[Read More]
IT HAS already been labelled a “mini Gold Cup”. And with some justification. This year’s Betfair Chase has attracted a field of supreme quality including the reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Bobs Worth, last year’s victor Silviniaco Conti and the young pretender Dynaste. Throw in middle distance specialist Cue Card, The Giant Bolster, former Gold …[Read More]
by JACK MILNER BetVictor were revealed as the new sponsors of the two-mile chase division two weeks ago. The deal sees the company proud sponsors of the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter, the Tingle Creek at Sandown and the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Starting with the BetVictor Haldon Gold …[Read More]
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