Reigning champion Moscow Flyer heads the 29 entries, including a record 11 from Ireland, revealed today for the 2006 Queen Mother Champion Chase. The two-mile championship event carries £290,000 in prize money, up from £250,000 last year, and is run at Cheltenham on Wednesday, March 15. Jessica Harrington's charge, who landed the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2003 and last year, will bid to become only the second horse - following Badsworth Boy from 1983 to 1985 - to capture the famous race three times.
But the 12-year-old, who has been beaten on his three most recent starts, faces stiff opposition from a number of younger pretenders to his crown including the Paul Nicholls-trained Kauto Star, who was impressive when beating Ashley Brook and Oneway to take the William Hill Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown last month.
Kario De Sormain, a leading performer in France, is an intriguing entry and could be a first Festival runner for Jean-Paul Gallorini, the 11-times French champion trainer.
Moscow Flyer is one of a record 11 Irish-trained entries and a noticeably strong team includes Hi Cloy, who beat Fota Island in last month's Grade 1 Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase at Leopardstown, as well as Central House, who looked assured of victory until his rider mistook the winning post.
The Noel Meade-trained Watson Lake, a trio trained by Paul Nolan, Accordion Etoile, Cloone River and Say Again, Jim, Justified and Newmill are among Ireland's other entries.
Along with Kauto Star, Paul Nicholls has entered the 2002 Smurfit Champion Hurdle winner Hors La Loi III, also a totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup entry, Armaturk and Andreas, while Martin Pipe has three representatives - last season's Irish independent Arkle Chase winner Contraband, Locksmith and the novice Celtic Son.
Sue Smith has entered Mister McGoldrick, winner of the Castleford Chase at Wetherby on December 27, along with Town Crier, an easy hurdle winner at the West Yorkshire course last week, while another in-form entry is Dempsey, who landed a two-mile handicap chase at Sandown on Saturday.
Edward Gillespie, Managing Director at Cheltenham Racecourse, said today: "The Queen Mother Champion Chase has consistently produced exciting finishes year after year and another great renewal is in prospect for 2006 with a record 11 Irish-trained performers entered alongside one of France's top chasers and a strong domestic team."
For further information, please contact Edward Gillespie or Peter McNeile, Commercial Manager at Cheltenham Racecourse, on 01242 513014.
Class 1, Grade 1, £290,000 Total Prize Fund. 3.15pm, Cheltenham, Wednesday, March 15, 2006. For 5yo+, two miles. Weights: 5yo 11st 6lb, 6yo+ 11st 10lb. Allowances: mares 7lb. Entries closed January 4, entries revealed January 10 (29 entries), forfeit stage February 21, £20,000 supplementary entry stage March 10, five-day confirmation stage March 10. Final 48-hour declaration stage, 10.00am, March 13. Form figures supplied by Weatherbys and are correct up to and including the racing of Monday, January 9.
Form Horse Age Owner Trainer
46-1621 ACCORDION ETOILE (IRE) 7 Banjo Syndicate Paul Nolan IRE
11F-126 ANDREAS (FR) 6 Mark Tincknell Paul Nicholls
036-151 ARMATURK (FR) 9 Trevor Hemmings Paul Nicholls
2421-32 ASHLEY BROOK (IRE) 8 Elizabeth Ellis Kevin Bishop
UF23-10 BAMBI DE L'ORME (FR) 7 Mr & Mrs John Poynton Ian Williams
23P-124 CELTIC SON (FR) 7 David Johnson Martin Pipe
3-53113 CENTRAL HOUSE 9 John Kenny Dessie Hughes IRE
6/2/111-F CLOONE RIVER (IRE) 10 Mrs K Gillane Paul Nolan IRE
13103-5 CONTRABAND 8 David Johnson Martin Pipe
P21U13-1 DEMPSEY (IRE) 8 Tracy Brown Mark Pitman
1211-U2 FOTA ISLAND (IRE) 10 J P McManus Mouse Morris IRE
1/112U-4 FUNDAMENTALIST (IRE) 8 Gripen Nigel Twiston-Davies
53-2311 HI CLOY (IRE) 9 Susan McCloy Michael Hourigan IRE
F43R0//-1 HORS LA LOI III (FR) 11 Paul Green Paul Nicholls
13/5112/- ISIO (FR) 10 Sir Peter & Lady Gibbings Nicky Henderson
115-012 JIM (FR) 9 Pat Conway Jim Dreaper IRE
101-11U JUSTIFIED (IRE) 7 Braybrook Syndicate Eamon Sheehy IRE
151-11F KARIO DE SORMAIN (FR) 8 Ecurie Zingaro Jean-Paul Gallorini FR
3/112-21 KAUTO STAR (FR) 6 Clive Smith Paul Nicholls
1F110-6 LOCKSMITH 6 David Johnson Martin Pipe
4F-6541 MISTER MCGOLDRICK 9 Richard Longley Sue Smith
111-224 MOSCOW FLYER (IRE) 12 Brian Kearney Jessica Harrington IRE
1P4-543 NEWMILL (IRE) 8 Mary Hayes John Murphy IRE
1114-33 ONEWAY (IRE) 9 Mark Rimell Mark Rimell
11136-2 RIVER CITY (IRE) 9 Sally Rowley-Williams Noel Chance
133/1F5- SAY AGAIN (IRE) 10 Sean Duggan Paul Nolan IRE
10F-6211 TOWN CRIER (IRE) 11 Trevor Hemmings Sue Smith
P0P400- VENN OTTERY 11 Oliver Carter Oliver Carter
143-211 WATSON LAKE (IRE) 8 John Corr Noel Meade IRE
29 entries
11 Irish-trained
1 French-trained
BREAKDOWN OF ENTRIES BY TRAINER WITH PAST SUCCESSES IN THE QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE
4 Entries
Paul Nicholls (1999 Call Equiname, 2004 Azertyuiop)
3 Entries
Paul Nolan IRE
Martin Pipe
2 Entries
Sue Smith
1 Entry
Kevin Bishop
Oliver Carter
Noel Chance
Jim Dreaper IRE (1975 Lough Inagh)
Jean-Paul Gallorini FR
Jessica Harrington IRE (2003 & 2005 Moscow Flyer)
Nicky Henderson (1992 Remittance Man)
Michael Hourigan IRE
Dessie Hughes IRE
Mouse Morris IRE (1986 Buck House)
John Murphy IRE
Noel Meade IRE
Mark Pitman
Mark Rimell
Eamon Sheehy IRE
Nigel Twiston-Davies
Ian Williams
QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE - ANALYSIS
The Queen Mother Champion Chase has attracted 29 top-class chasers, four more than last season, including a record 11 entries from Ireland and one from France.
Moscow Flyer, successful in 2003 and 2005, could attempt to emulate Badsworth Boy (who collected a trio of wins between 1983-1985) by becoming only the second horse ever to win the race three times. Despite not having scored so far this term, Jessica Harrington's chaser excels around Cheltenham, having also won the Irish Independent Arkle Chase in 2002 and, at the age of 12, will be a threat to all if returning to his scintillating best.
The reigning champion could be re-opposed by fellow Irish challenger Central House, who finished sixth in last year's contest. However, Dessie Hughes's charge has looked an improved performer this term, posting decisive victories over Moscow Flyer and Rathgar Beau at Navan and Cork respectively before a controversial defeat in the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase at Leopardstown in December, when jockey Roger Loughran stopped riding after mistaking the winning post, forfeiting a likely winning advantage.
Paul Nicholls, successful in the 1999 race with Call Equiname and in 2004 with Azertyuiop (ruled out through injury this year), has a four-strong entry consisting of Andreas, Armaturk, Hors La Loi III and Kauto Star.
The progressive six-year-old Kauto Star looks the strongest contender, having followed a good comeback run from injury when second in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter with an impressive victory in the Tingle Creek Trophy at Sandown in December, defeating six opponents including Ashley Brook and Oneway, who look to reoppose come The Festival.
Andreas and Armaturk have both been contesting handicaps of late and will need to show improved form to figure, while Hors La Loi III, who won the Smurfit Champion Hurdle in 2002, returned from an absence of 978 days to win a novice chase at Taunton last month.
Champion trainer Martin Pipe has yet to taste success in Cheltenham's prestigious two-mile contest, and with stable-star Well Chief missing this year's race through injury, the Nicholashayne-handler has entered Celtic Son, Contraband and Locksmith.
Celtic Son has been campaigned over two and half miles so far in his novice year over fences, while 2005 Irish Independent Arkle Chase winner Contraband has raced only once this season, finishing fifth behind Monkerhostin in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter. Locksmith was well beaten last time in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown behind Kauto Star, Ashley Brook and Oneway.
Nicky Henderson, who trained the 1992 victor Remittance Man, has Isio, winner of the Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot in 2004, engaged, while Nigel Twiston-Davies's exciting Fundamentalist, Noel Chance's River City and the Mark Pitman-trained Dempsey are other interesting contenders. The home defence is completed by the Sue Smith pair of Mister McGoldrick and Town Crier, the Ian Williams-trained Bambi de L'Orme and the enigmatic Venn Ottery, fifth in 2004 and seventh last year for owner-trainer Oliver Carter.
A strong Irish challenge includes the aptly-named Jim, trained by Jim Dreaper, who won the race back in 1975 with Lough Inagh. Mouse Morris, whose Buck House claimed the 1986 running, has entered Fota Island, winner of the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase at last year's Cheltenham Festival in clear-cut style. He ran well to be second on his reappearance behind Hi Cloy, who represents trainer Michael Hourigan. Paul Nolan is three-handed with the exciting novice Accordion Etoile, Cloone River and Say Again.
The other Irish entries are the Dusty Sheehy-trained novice Justified, Newmill from the John Joseph Murphy stable and Noel Meade's Watson Lake. The mare Kario de Sormain, a Grade Two winner at Auteuil, represents 11-times Champion French Jumps trainer Jean-Paul Gallorini.
QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE FACTS
1. The National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase was first run in 1959 and the Queen Mother's name was added to the race title in 1980, the year of her 80th birthday.
2. The race's roll of honour includes plenty of multiple winners. Badsworth Boy (1983-85) is the only three-time winner. The double winners are Fortria (1960 and 1961), Drinny's Double (1967 and 1968), Royal Relief (1972 and 1974), Skymas (1976 and 1977), Hilly Way (1978 and 1979), Pearlyman (1987 and 1988), Barnbrook Again (1989 and 1990), Viking Flagship (1994 and 1995) and Moscow Flyer (2003 and 2005).
3. Irish-trained runners have a good record in the Queen Mother Champion Chase winning 18 of the 46 runnings. Moscow Flyer, trained by Jessica Harrington and ridden by Barry Geraghty, was the most recent Irish-trained scorer last year.
4. Tom Dreaper has the best record of any trainer in the race winning six runnings with Fortria (1960 and 1961), Ben Stack (1964), Flyingbolt (1966), Muir (1969), and Straight Fort (1970). Of current trainers, Arthur Moore (Drumgora 1981 and Klairon Davis 1996), Paul Nicholls (1999 Call Equiname and Azertyuiop 2004) and Jessica Harrington (Moscow Flyer 2003 and 2005) have the best record.
5. Flyingbolt was the shortest-priced winner when succeeding at 1/5 in 1966 while Another Dolly, who was awarded the 1980 race at odds of 33/1, provided the biggest upset.
6. Pat Taaffe is the most successful rider with five wins while Moscow Flyer's partner Barry Geraghty is the only current jockey to have landed more than one Queen Mother Champion Chase.
7. The oldest horse to have triumphed was the 12-year-old Skymas in 1977 while the youngest victor was the six-year-old Inkslinger in 1973.
8. A small but select field usually lines up for the Queen Mother Champion Chase. The largest field was in 1999 when 13 runners went to post while only five runners lined up in 1985, 1972, 1968, 1964, 1963 and 1961.
9. The most successful owners are George Ansley, who enjoyed three wins with Fortria (1960 and 1961) and Straight Fort (1970) and Doug Armitage who had three victories with Badsworth Boy (1983, 1984 and 1985).
10. Michael Dickinson trained the winner for three consecutive years with Rathgorman (1982) and Badsworth Boy (1983 & 1984). His mother Monica had taken charge of the training operation for Badsworth Boy's final success in 1985.
11. In 1986, the Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Buck House subsequently met with that year's Cheltenham Gold Cup heroine Dawn Run in a special match race at Punchestown in April, 1986. It was Dawn Run who prevailed by two and a half lengths.
12. The Irish Independent Arkle Trophy is a good guide for future success in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Azertyuiop (2004), Moscow Flyer (2003 and 2005), Flagship Uberalles (2002), Klairon Davis (1996) and Remittance Man (1992) all won the novices' event before their Queen Mother Champion Chase victory.
Latest totesport betting on Monday, January 9, 2006:
6/4 Kauto Star
5 Moscow Flyer
8 Ashley Brook
8 Central House
8 Cloone River
8 Watson Lake
9 Fota Island
14 Contraband
16 Hi Cloy
20 Fundamentalist
33 Oneway
50 River City
three places at a quarter of the odds
DONOUGHUE CALLS FOR RACING INDUSTRY TO UNITE
Former minister Lord Donoughue this afternoon stressed that the racing industry could find itself in an "Armageddon" situation if it fails to unite behind the findings of the Future Financing Review of Racing Group.
Donoughue, who chaired the Group, was guest speaker at the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association's Annual General Meeting in London today, Tuesday, January 10, 2006.
His Group delivered their findings, which are still confidential, to Sports Minister Richard Caborn before Christmas having been set the task of finding an alternative to the Levy Board to fund the sport which would not involve statutory intervention.
"I'm not sure that everyone appreciates the acute financial crisis facing racing which arose because the government agreed to abolish the Levy," said Donoughue. "The government wanted to get rid of the Levy and was persuaded by the BHB that it had a replacement in data rights. But they did things the wrong way round - they got rid of the Levy before they introduced the replacement, which it turned out doesn't fly legally.
"We agreed a three-year extension of the Levy until 2009 but unless there is a secure, sustainable replacement it is a kind of Armageddon - the industry will be minus £100 million from the Levy.
It will be a disaster for everyone, not just the racing industry but also breeding.
"My message to all in racing and breeding is that we must unite to find a sustainable funding system for the industry. We need consensus in the industry, especially over the next two months when each party considers its approach."
Donoughue added that press reports of his committee's findings had been accurate and that the solution he had found was the sale of picture and data rights.
"We examined lots of options - licences to bet, mandates to bet etc and found that without government statutory intervention none of them would work," he continued. "The only one that would fly without government intervention was the sale of pictures and associated data to bookies and the media. It was the only solution we could find that would produce the necessary revenue and not require government statutory intervention, which the government stated quite firmly to us was our term of reference.
"We think it will raise a sum broadly in line with that which was produced by the Levy. It requires the whole industry to unite and support the proposal - if there is dissent that will kill the scheme and the financial future would be bleak. Breeding can contribute and I'm delighted to hear Philip's intention to join the new Horsemens' Group - all the actors should join in."
Donoughue admitted that his proposals were not yet legally watertight and this could be the only other sticking point.
"Our proposal is not yet legally secure, we think it can be and over the next two months the legalities must be looked at. I'm not pessimistic about the legal side although as the BHB found out, you can take all the legal advice you want but you are never sure until someone takes a test case to court. But the more legally robust it looks, the less likely someone will want to incur the costs of going to court.
"If this fails and there's no commercial option that's legally robust it seems to me that what remains is going into Armageddon - an industry without subsidy that will be much smaller than the present one or there will have to be a statutory intervention by government."
Donoughue felt it unlikely that government would be willing to revive the Levy Board, having announced its abolition.
"Legally the government has abolished the Levy and if we wanted to revert to that we'd be asking the government to do the biggest U-Turn I've known after 40 years in politics. It would be a very difficult thing to persuade ministers to do.
"If a different version of the Levy was introduced, Europe could come down and say it is State Aid, I think the previous Levy only survived because it was introduced pre-Europe."
TBA HOPES TO JOIN HORSEMENS' GROUP
The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) today announced that it hopes to become a member of the fledgling Horsemens' Group, a body that already has the backing of the Racehorse Owners' Association and National Trainers' Federation.
Philip Freedman, the TBA's chairman, made the announcement at his Association's Annual General Meeting in London today.
"I am delighted to be able to report that today the council of this Association has agreed, subject to changes to the shareholders' agreement, to become a member of the Horsemens' Group," Freedman told the AGM.
"While I am sure that many members will have shared the Council's concerns with both the constitution of the Group, together with the ambitions of its joint organisation with the racecourses which at first sight could limit the scope for the central governing authority that we have always felt to be essential for the future health of the industry, we believe that the principal financial concerns for the Association - namely future funding for the Breeders' Prize and Owners' Premium Schemes, together with continued funding of veterinary research - have been met.
"Meanwhile the race-planning issues, and consequences for the horse population which may arise in the future will be better faced by our involvement than if we are left sitting on the sidelines."
He continued: "It remains to be seen whether or not the outcome of the most recent court decision on the BHB's abuse of its monopoly position as the supplier of data will threaten the viability of this proposal, but the benefits of both the horsemen' joining together, and then agreeing with the racecourses on the creation of prize money contract are prizes worth fighting for."
Freedman also went on to call for an industry review to be led by the Levy Board, into funding towards areas veterinary research.
"Veterinary funding is likely to become an even more contentious subject in 2006, not least due to the much publicised financial problems at the Animal Health Trust.
"Given both the scale of the industry's expenditure in this area - with ourselves spending over £200,000 annually historically through the Equine Fertility Unity and the AHT, but in the future through the Genome Project and support alongside the Levy Board for specific projects - the ROA contributing in excess of £270,000 annually to the AHT's diagnostic services, and the Levy Board's contribution to advancing equine veterinary science and research exceeding £1.7 million, and its importance, surely the time has come for a fundamental review of how much we pay, how we contribute, and where the money is going to ensure that it is being targeted most efficiently.
"That is not to say we should use this as an excuse to try and cut the amount we are spending in this area - indeed we may well find that industry as a whole and breeders in particular, need to be spending more - but that it is time that the whole industry, including both the bodies that fund the work together with their veterinary advisers, and the recipients of those funds, agree on a set of priorities should be funded and how their implementation should be most efficiently managed.
"Given the industry's present governance structure and funding, the Levy Board is the only body capable of leading this initiative and I am pleased to hear that they are likely to be addressing this topic during their strategy review, as we would certainly endorse their chairman's view that the time has come for a holistic approach to this issue."
Freedman also announced that the Racehorse Owners' Association had given its support for an enhanced Owners' Premium Scheme, set to be twice as big as the Breeders' Prize Scheme in the longer term. He added that the ROA "will also back the retention of funding for the Breeders' Prize Scheme based on the percentage of the overall prize money pool which it represents in the final full year of Levy Board funding."
He added that with the British Horseracing Board reducing its marketing spend in 2006, he envisaged that the TBA was anticipating meeting much of the expenditure on promoting British bloodstock.
"In response to its well-publicised financial problems, the BHB has already decided to cut back on its marketing budget in 2006, and increasingly target its spending on areas which were seen to benefit the sport as a whole rather than specific areas of it, such as promoting British bloodstock.
"I do not need to tell you how this approach contrasts with that in Ireland, where the well-funded ITM, to which all those of us who foal mares in Ireland are compelled by statute to contribute, and if we are to try and promote British bloodstock it is likely to be this Association which has to bear the brunt of that cost."
DANROAD ARRIVES AT NEW HOME
Top New Zealand stallion Danroad - a Group 2-winning son of Danehill - has just arrived in Britain to begin his first northern-hemisphere covering season at Hedgeholme Stud in Co Durham, where he is standing for a fee of 2,800.
The Hong Kong Breeders Club, Danroad's owner, will be supporting the stallion with around 15 mares, including a number bought at the autumn breeding-stock sales. There has also been great interest from breeders in Britain, Ireland and France.
Andrew Spalding, owner of Hedgeholme Stud, said today: "Danroad arrived on Monday and we are delighted with him. He is as good-looking as he appears in his photographs and, as a son of Danehill who scored in Group 2 company as a juvenile, he has obvious appeal to commercial breeders.
"We have some exciting mares booked to him, including a significant number from Ireland, some from France and those owned by the Hong Kong Breeders Club."
A nomination to Danroad was auctioned in aid of the Chris Kinane Trust Fund at Doncaster in September and bought for 3,000 by Canice Farrell of Knockatrina House Stud in Co Laois. Among the mares that Farrell, breeder of Group 1-winning sprinter Fayr Jag, is likely to send to Danroad is Waroonga, dam of smart handicapper Foursquare.
DANROAD ARRIVES AT NEW HOME
Sir John and Lady Gwen Swaine were named Hong Kong Breeders of the Year at the inaugural Hong Kong Breeders Club awards ceremony held in Hong Kong last month. Major-General Guy Watkins, chairman of the selection committee, described the Swaines' love affair with racing as "a fairy tale".
The Swaine's involvement began with a filly named Corvette who was born in Australia in 1972, exported to Hong Kong and in 1976 becoming the first filly to win the Hong Kong Derby.
Watkins added: "When Corvette lost sight in one eye, as a result of an accident, she was retired to a specially purchased stud farm in England. She produced a filly by Busted, who was named Corvalent. She in turn produced a colt by Sillery, named Syllabus. He is already the winner of four races in Hong Kong in the Swaines' colours for Hong Kong Cup-winning trainer David Ferraris. He believes that the best is yet to come for Syllabus."
Sir John, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said he was "very surprised" to be selected in front of two high-profile and successful breeders in Alan Lam and Sunny Yam.
He continued: "This is a great honour and I thank the Hong Kong Breeders Club but it's really an award to my wife, whose passion for breeding has driven this operation for almost 30 years."
The Hong Kong Breeders Club was established last year with the aim of blending the pursuit of thoroughbred breeding excellence with recreational lifestyle options for members.
The Club already owns a number of well-bred broodmares in Europe, America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and has shares in 10 stallions, including 2005 international Group One winners Starcraft, Whipper, Motivator and Rakti as well as owning Danroad.
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