Sunday, January 23, 2005
MURPHY TARGETS SKY BET CHASE
The £60,000 Sky Bet Chase, Doncaster’s richest jump race of the year, takes place on Saturday, January 29, and the famous three-mile Listed contest should live up to its billing as one of the most competitive handicaps of the year.
A trainer hoping to keep the prize in Yorkshire is Middleham handler Ferdy Murphy, who plans to run his exciting novice Your A Gassman. The seven-year won novice chases at Newcastle and Kelso in smooth fashion earlier this season and was travelling well on his latest start when hampered and unseating his rider in the Grade One Feltham Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
Murphy said: “Your A Gassman is on course for the Sky Bet Chase and I will also enter Europa. At this stage Your A Gassman is a definite runner while the race is one under consideration for Europa.
“Your A Gassman worked brilliantly on Thursday morning. Brian Harding [the gelding’s partner for his last four starts] came down and was very happy with him.
“He done well since his Kempton mishap and there are no problems whatsoever.”
In what looks sure to be a brilliant day’s racing, there is £170,000 in prize money on offer. In addition to the feature Sky Bet Chase, the seven-race card also includes a top hurdle, the £30,000 Grade Two Brit Insurance Rover Don Novices’ Hurdle over three miles and half a furlong.
Doncaster’s last meeting on January 17 saw the debut of the newly-modified fences which have less birch and are therefore not so stiff. The fences also feature more “belly” to them and the overwhelming view of jockeys was that they were very inviting to jump.
Clerk of the course Jon Pullin commented: “A lot of work has gone into the fences over the last couple of meetings and we are obviously delighted that the jockeys gave their full support to what we’ve done on January 17.”
Pullin spoke about the going ahead of the Sky Bet Chase meeting, which also includes racing on Friday, January 28: “We are currently good to firm, good in places.
“We raced on January 17 on good with a bit of good to firm - it was nice ground. We have had no rain since so it has dried out a bit with the wind we’ve had.
“There are some showers around over the next few days and it wouldn’t take much rain for us to get good ground.”
RACE PROGRAMME
SKY BET CHASE DAY - DONCASTER, SATURDAY, JANUARY 29
Time Race Distance Prize Money
1.10pm 0800 722 421 Freephone Betting From Sky Bet Handicap Hurdle 2m 3 1/2f £10,000-added
1.45pm skybet.com HBLB Novices’ Chase 2m 1/2f £17,000-added
2.20pm Skybet Press Red To Bet Mansion House Handicap Chase 2m 1/2f £20,000-added
2.50pm skybetvegas.com Mares’ Only Handicap Hurdle 2m 1/2f £30,000-added
3.25pm Brit Insurance River Don Novices’ Hurdle 3m 1/2f £30,000
3.55pm Sky Bet Chase (Handicap) 3m £60,000
4.25pm “Sky Vegas Live” On Sky Channel 295 Maiden Open NHF Race 2m 1/2f £3,000-added
For old articles (from 1st March 2000) go to the Newslink
Archive
|
