Wednesday, December 2, 2009

SEA TOPS WEIGHTS FOR Boylesports.com GOLD CUP - TIZZARD AIMING OSCAR AT £150,000 CHASE

Boylesports have opened the market on the Boylesports.com Gold Cup and make Tranquil Sea the 6/1 favourite. If successful, the seven-year-old would become the ninth horse to win both the Boylesports.com Gold Cup and the Paddy Power Gold Cup and only the fourth to complete the double in the same season.

One horse heading to the Boylepsports.com Gold Cup is Mount Oscar (10st 9lb), trained by Colin Tizzard. One of the most improved horses in training, Mount Oscar has won on his last two starts, in a beginners’ chase at Fontwell and in a competitive handicap at Newbury on November 28. The 10-year-old is a 14/1 chance with Boylesports.

Tizzard commented: “We are hoping to run Mount Oscar in the Boylesports.com Gold Cup. I can’t believe what he has achieved already this season and he looks in the form of his life so we decided to give him a chance in a top handicap chase.

“I thought that Paddy Brennan was very cool on him at Newbury - he didn’t really have a real go at the horse until halfway up the run-in and Mount Oscar stayed on well. I think that he will stay three miles in time but he also seems to have plenty of pace to go with it.

“He’s gone up to 140, which would give us a lovely weight if the horses at the top of the handicap take their chances. He will enjoy running over two miles and five furlongs in a really fast run handicap - his stamina came into play at Newbury.

“He has had leg trouble over the years but he showed some sparkling form over hurdles for Richard Rowe before seeming to lose his way a bit. He has not had a huge amount of racing and he certainly seems to be in good form at the moment,

“He is still a novice over fences and we will run him in the Boylesports.com Gold Cup to see where we are with him. If he runs really well at Cheltenham, then he could take his chance in the Feltham Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.

“He has taken his two races really well, although his win at Fontwell was little more than a canter. We are not going to wait around forever with him and I think that he deserves to take his chance in some of the top chases.”

Poquelin (11st 6lb, 7/1) finished the four-and-a-half length runner-up behind Tranquil Sea in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and could now re-oppose that rival on 4lb better terms. The six-year-old is one of three Paul Nicholls-trained possibles along with Chapoturgeon (11st 8lb, 7/1), an early faller in the Paddy Power Gold Cup but successful in the Listed Jewson Novices’ Handicap Chase at The Festival last season, and Gwanako (11st 10lb, 10/1).

Also prominent in the betting with Boylesports is the Tim Vaughan-trained Atouchbetweenacara (11st 3lb, 7/1) who was last seen out when taking the Grade Two Silver Trophy at Cheltenham’s April Meeting. Hold Em (10st 3lb, 10/1) finished third in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and trainer Keith Goldsworthy has confirmed the Boylesports.com Gold Cup as the nine-year-old’s next target.

Tamarinbleu (11st 8lb, 10/1) caused the biggest-ever upset in the race when winning the 2007 Boylesports.com Gold Cup at 22/1 and is one of four possible runners for trainer David Pipe alongside Our Vic (11st 10lb, 20/1), who was last seen out when finishing sixth in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, Pablo Du Charmil (11st 5lb, 16/1), Seven Is My Number (10st 8lb, 10/1) and I’m So Lucky (10st 4lb).

The 11 Irish-trained contenders also include J’Y Vole (11st 6b, 10/1) and Scotsirish (11st 9lb, 10/1), while another possible starter is Something Wells (11st 5lb, 14/1) who was last seen out when triumphant in the Freddie Williams Festival Plate over the course and distance on March 12.

The fantastic seven-race card on Saturday, December 12, also features one of the season’s top Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Trials in the shape of the two mile, one furlong £150,000 Grade Two Boylesports.com International (3.05pm), which the reigning Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdler Punjabi plus runner-up Celestial Halo are on target for.

Friday’s seven-race programme features the £50,000 Listed Neptune Investment Management Handicap Chase (1.50pm) over an extended three miles, one furlong, which was won in 2008 by subsequent John Smith’s Grand National hero Mon Mome.

Leon Blanche of Boylesports commented: “We are delighted to once again support the Boylesports.com Gold Cup.

“This year’s race looks to be as competitive as ever and we are thrilled with the entries.

“It is a great honour to be associated with Cheltenham Racecourse and we are also proud to support the £150,000 Boylesports.com International, one of the leading trials for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle.”

For further information please contact Andy Clifton, Communications Manager at Cheltenham Racecourse, on 07876 330090, or visit the website at www.cheltenham.co.uk
Boylesports.com Gold Cup - opening Boylesports prices: 6/1 Tranquil Sea, 7/1 Atouchbetweenacara, 7/1 Chapoturgeon, 7/1 Poquelin, 10/1 Gwanako, 10/1 Hold Em, 10/1 J’Y Vole, 10/1 Scotsirish, 10/1 Seven Is My Number, 10/1 Tamarinbleu, 12/1 Pop, 12/1 Razor Royale, 14/1 Lord Henry, 14/1 Mount Oscar, 14/1 Skippers Brig, 14/1 Something Wells, 14/1 Tarotino, 16/1 Au Courant, 16/1 From Dusk To Dawn, 16/1 Isn’t That Lucky, 16/1 My Petra, 16/1 Pablo Du Charmil, 16/1 Pomme Tiepy, 16/1 Snowy Morning, 20/1 Bible Lord, 20/1 Bringbackthebiff, 20/1 Calgary Bay, 20/1 Horner Woods, 20/1 Jayo, 20/1 Or Bleu, 20/1 Our Vic, 20/1 Shazand, 20/1 Sky’s The Limit, 20/1 Stan, 20/1 the Last Derby, 25/1 Bar

41 FOR THE LADBROKE - MEADE HOPING TO CLAIM £150,000 CONTEST FOR IRELAND - BGC LONG WALK HURDLE ATTRACTS STAR STUDDED CAST

Run over two miles, The Ladbroke came to Ascot in 2001 having previously been held at Leopardstown in Ireland. Irish-trained horses continue to target The Ladbroke, Europe’s richest handicap hurdle, and among this year’s entries are five from Ireland.

Former champion Irish jump trainer, Noel Meade, is responsible for three of the five Irish-trained contenders - Arch Rebel (20/1 with Ladbrokes), Silverhand (20/1) and Definate Spectacle (25/1) - and hopes to mount a strong challenge at Ascot on December 19.

Arch Rebel, a Grade Two winner over hurdles as a novice and a four-time Listed winner on the Flat, was last seen out when finishing second at Fairyhouse on November 28, while Silverhand has also scored at Listed level on the Flat and most recently ran in the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham last month, when he finished 11th. Definate Spectacle was successful in a valuable handicap hurdle at Aintree back in 2005 and could revert to hurdling after a couple of recent outings over fences.

Meade, who won The Ladbroke at Leopardstown with Glencloud in 1993, revealed: “The plan at the moment is for Arch Rebel and Silverhand to run in The Ladbroke. We have also entered Definate Spectacle, but we will see what the likely ground is going to be before making any final decision regarding him.

“Arch Rebel ran well on Saturday and I was happy with him. We gave him a rest earlier in the year because he has been in training for a long time and was beginning to feel it on his joints but he is OK now.


“He won a Grade Two hurdle as a juvenile but we have been keeping him busy on the Flat. He’s probably getting towards the end of his career over jumps but you would have to think that he would have a good chance at Ascot, especially if he got reasonable ground. He’s rated 108 on the level, so he certainly has the class to run well.

“We were a bit disappointed with the way Silverhand ran in the Greatwood Hurdle, but the ground was very testing for him on that day. He is similar to Arch Rebel in so far that he is a very smart performer on the Flat, but his form over hurdles doesn’t seem to stack up in the same way, which is a bit puzzling because he seems to jump them well.

“Definate Spectacle is an old horse nowadays, but he has got himself back down in the weights and he would probably be racing off a nice weight at the moment. I would like to see good racing ground for him to take his chance, which is often the case at Ascot.

“We began his campaign with a couple of runs over fences but he didn’t take to it. He ran a sound race at Dundalk on his latest outing and seems in good order at the moment.”

The Irish-trained contingent also includes Perce Rock (20/1), trained by Tommy Stack, while the Ascot winner’s enclosure will witness exuberant celebrations if the Oliver Brady-trained Takestan (16/1) were to prevail.

No current trainer can match the record of Nicky Henderson in The Ladbroke at Ascot, with the Lambourn handler recording three victories (Chauvinist (2002), Jack The Giant (2007) and Sentry Duty (2008)). This year Henderson could be represented by Tasheba (20/1), who finished fourth behind stable companion Caracciola in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, Fairyland (Ladbrokes’ 7/1 Fav), who was an impressive Listed winner at Newbury on November 28 and Know The Law (12/1), who was travelling well behind Fairyland at Newbury when unseating his rider three from home.

David Pipe landed the spoils with Acambo in 2006 and has three to choose from this year, headed by the versatile Mamlook (12/1) who finished runner-up behind Darley Sun in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket before coming second to Celestial Halo in the Grade Two Elite Hurdle at Wincanton on November 7. The other two possible starters from Pond House are Ronaldo Des Mottes (16/1) and the mare Gaspara (33/1), who enjoyed her finest hour when successful in the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle at the 2007 Cheltenham Festival.

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls has yet to capture The Ladbroke but has two useful performers entered this year with the hugely promising novice Pepe Simo (10/1), who is unbeaten in three starts over hurdles including in a Listed contest at Haydock Park on November 21 and Pepite De Soleil (16/1), who finished runner-up in a Grade One contest at Chepstow last term.

Other interesting entries include Khyber Kim, who came with a tremendous late run to land the valuable Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham on November 15 with Harry Tricker (8/1) two lengths behind him in second. Harry Tricker is trained by Gary Moore, who has also entered the 2008 Greatwood winner Numide (14/1) and Gee Dee Nen (25/1). Alan King has made an entry for the smart novice Manyriverstocross (16/1), while Barney Curley’s shrewd yard could be represented by Zabeel Palace (8/1), who having won a lowly seller at Fontwell in September has made rapid progress to win three of his next four starts, two of which came at Ascot. Alsadaa (40/1), runner-up in 2007, could bid to go one better for trainer Laura Mongan. Get Me Out Of Here (8/1) is unbeaten in four outings, with the five-year-old’s most recent success coming at Newbury on November 26 and he presents the powerful combination of owner J P McManus and trainer Jonjo O’Neill.

The weights for The Ladbroke are announced on December 9.

Opening Prices from Ladbrokes
7/1 Fav Fairyland
8/1 Zabeel Palace
8/1 Get Me Out Of Here
8/1 Harry Tricker
10/1 Pepe Simo
10/1 James De Vassy
12/1 Mamlook
12/1 Know The Law
14/1 Oldrik
14/1 Numide
16/1 Ronaldo Des Mottes
16/1 Mighty Moon
16/1 Zanir
16/1 Frontier Dancer
16/1 Stravinsky Dance
16/1 Takestan
16/1 Manyriverstocross
16/1 Pepite De Soleil
20/1 Dani's Girl
20/1 Silverhand
20/1 Tullamore Dew
20/1 Perce Rock
20/1 Argento Luna
20/1 Pascha Bere
20/1 Tasheba
20/1 Arch Rebel
20/1 Nampour
20/1 Spear Thistle
20/1 Overstrand
25/1 Hibiki
25/1 Treaty Flyer
25/1 Gee Dee Nen
25/1 Definate Spectacle
33/1 Stow
33/1 European Dream
33/1 Gaspara
40/1 Alsadaa
50/1 Chaninbar
50/1 Fenix Not quoted: Khyber Kim, Blue Bajan

David Williams of Ladbrokes commented: “Nicky Henderson’s record in The Ladbroke at Ascot is second to none and having landed the spoils for the past two years, he looks to have another worthy candidate in Fairyland. She is our 7/1 market leader.

“Fairyland’s victory at Newbury on November 28 was very impressive and the mare looks well positioned to mount a strong challenge at Ascot on December 19.”

THE LADBROKE
Class 1, Listed Race, £150,000 Total Prize Fund. 2.35pm, Ascot, Saturday, December 19, 2009. For 4yo+ rated 0-150. Two miles. Penalties: after December 5, a winner of a hurdle 6lb. No penalty to increase a horse’s weight above 11st 12lb. Entries closed December 1, entries revealed December 2 (41 entries), weights revealed December 9, five-day confirmation stage December 14, final 48-hour declaration stage 10.00am, December 17. Form figures supplied by Weatherbys and are correct up to and including the racing of Monday, November 30.

Form Horse Age Owner Trainer
40501-0 ALSADAA (USA) 6 Mrs P J Sheen Laura Mongan
1060///-02 ARCH REBEL (USA) 8 Pat Garvey Noel Meade IRE
22110-2 ARGENTO LUNA 6 P K Gardner Oliver Sherwood
3004-60 BLUE BAJAN (IRE) 7 Dr John Hollowood Andrew Turnell
344020- CHANINBAR (FR) 6 John Watts Caroline Thompson John Naylor Milton Harris
5-40115 DANI'S GIRL (IRE) 6 Clive Craig Pat Phelan
0/20-040 DEFINATE SPECTACLE (IRE) 9 Mrs Pat Sloan Noel Meade
12U6-26 EUROPEAN DREAM (IRE) 6 You Trotters Richard Guest
10-0331 FAIRYLAND (GER) 6 C E Stedman & A R Blaxland Nicky Henderson
0/6102/0/- FENIX (GER) 10 P A Philipps, T S Redman & J S Redman Lucy Wadham
F5201-2 FRONTIER DANCER (IRE) 5 Jump For Fun Racing Nigel Twiston-Davies
00-0065 GASPARA (FR) 6 P McMahon David Pipe
2103-40 GEE DEE NEN 6 Chris Duggan & Brendan Gilligan Gary Moore
1111 GET ME OUT OF HERE (IRE) 5 J P McManus Jonjo O'Neill
63-P512 HARRY TRICKER 5 Richard Green Gary Moore
2245-30 HIBIKI (IRE) 5 Richard Green Philip Hobbs
104-14 JAMES DE VASSY (FR) 4 Jakeman, Barrett, Booth & Ferrand Nick Williams
0500-51 KHYBER KIM 7 Caroline Mould Nigel Twiston-Davies
51-142U KNOW THE LAW 5 Raymond Tooth & Steve Gilbey Nicky Henderson
06404-2 MAMLOOK (IRE) 5 Peter Deal & G Lowe David Pipe
13 MANYRIVERSTOCROSS (IRE) 4 Mrs M C Sweeney Alan King
5412- MIGHTY MOON 6 Aidan Ryan Richard Fahey
145-514 NAMPOUR (FR) 4 Terry Warner Philip Hobbs
4054-42 NUMIDE (FR) 6 H R Hunt Gary Moore
1130-22 OLDRIK (GER) 6 D J Jones Philip Hobbs
3240P1 OVERSTRAND (IRE) 10 Dr Richard & Laura Newland, C E Stedman Dr Richard Newland
303-023 PASCHA BERE (FR) 6 Mark Tracey Nick Gifford
210-111 PEPE SIMO (IRE) 5 Mette Campbell-Andenaes Paul Nicholls
11213-0 PEPITE DE SOLEIL (FR) 4 The Whittaker Family Paul Nicholls
011U1-0 PERCE ROCK 7 J P McManus Tommy Stack IRE
11120-0 RONALDO DES MOTTES (FR) 4 K & D Ives David Pipe
62-5060 SILVERHAND (IRE) 5 Anna Foxe Noel Meade IRE
1200-21 SPEAR THISTLE 7 Tony Hayward & Sue Head Charlie Mann
13210- STOW 4 GSM Properties Ltd Venetia Williams
11135-0 STRAVINSKY DANCE 4 Robert Waley-Cohen Nicky Henderson
046154 TAKESTAN (IRE) 6 P J Woods Oliver Brady IRE
2113-0 TASHEBA 4 Terry Benson Nicky Henderson
211134 TREATY FLYER (IRE) 8 Atlantic Racing and Ron Huggins Alison Thorpe
16210-2 TULLAMORE DEW (IRE) 7 Tullamore Dew Nick Gifford
0//-11121 ZABEEL PALACE 7 Curley Leisure Brian Curley
0/664-01 ZANIR (FR) 5 Power Panels Electrical Systems Ltd Tom George

41 Entries
5 Irish-trained
THE LADBROKE HURDLE ROLL OF HONOUR
(1987-2008)
Ascot, Saturday, December 19, 2009
run at Sandown in 2005 (January 7, 2006) and in 2004 (January 8, 2005); run at Leopardstown in January up to & including 2000
Year Winner Age/Wt Owner Trainer Jockey SP
2008 SENTRY DUTY 6-11-09 Peter Spiller Nicky Henderson Barry Geraghty 12/1
2007 JACK THE GIANT 5-11-00 Hanbury Syndicate Nicky Henderson Mick Fitzgerald 9/4F
2006 ACAMBO 5-11-09 David Johnson David Pipe Timmy Murphy 7/1
2005 DESERT AIR 7-10-09 Belinda Harvey Martin Pipe Tom Scudamore 25/1
2004 TAMARINBLEU 5-10-11 Arthur White Partnership Martin Pipe Tony McCoy 14/1
2003 THESIS 5-11-02 1961 Partnership Venetia Williams Brian Crowley 33/1
2002 CHAUVINIST 7-10-00 Bunny & Nick Roberts Nicky Henderson Norman Williamson 15/2
2001 MARBLE ARCH 5-10-11 Martin & Mary Wilson Rory Sweet Hughie Morrison Norman Williamson 7/1
2000 MANTLES PRINCE 6-9-12 R J McSharry Pat Hughes IRE Fran Berry 12/1
1999 ARCHIVE FOOTAGE 7-11-08 Michael Smurfit Dermot Weld IRE David Evans 25/1
1998 GRAPHIC EQUALISER 6-10-00 BRASK Syndicate Arthur Moore IRE Conor O’Dwyer 5/1F
1997 MASTER TRIBE 7-10-04 Jebel Ali Racing Stables Jenny Pitman Norman Williamson 18/1
1996 DANCE BEAT 5-9-12 Mrs E Queally Jessica Harrington IRE Anthony Powell 12/1
1995 ANUSHA 5-10-02 G A Hoggard Michael Hourigan IRE Shane Broderick 25/1
1994 ATONE 7-10-08 Robert Sinclair Bunny Cox IRE Kevin O’Brien 10/1
1993 GLENCLOUD 5-10-13 D Tierney Noel Meade IRE Gerry O’Neill 20/1
1992 HOW’S THE BOSS 6-10-02 Edward Farrell John Brassill IRE Jason Titley 20/1
1991 THE ILLIAD 10-10-13 Elizabeth Furlong Andy Geraghty IRE Pat McWilliams 7/1
1990 REDUNDANT PAL 7-11-05 P S O’Neill Paddy Mullins IRE Conor O’Dwyer 20/1
1989 REDUNDANT PAL 6-10-00 P S O’Neill Paddy Mullins IRE P Kavanagh 16/1
1988 ROARK 6-11-01 P Leeper Arthur Moore IRE Tom Taaffe 5/1
1987 BARNBROOK AGAIN 6-11-08 Mel Davies David Elsworth Colin Brown 5/2F

16 FOR BGC LONG WALK HURDLE

Ascot also stages the £100,000 Grade One BGC Long Walk Hurdle on Saturday, December 19. Run over three miles and a furlong, it boasts an illustrious roll of honour with many of the great staying hurdlers having prevailed down the years.

Two of the last three winners are entered once again, the Ascot specialist Lough Derg, successful in 2007, and Mighty Man, the 2006 scorer.

The Paul Nicholls-trained Big Buck’s was the leading staying hurdler last season, following his victory in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham and could not have been more impressive on his seasonal reappearance at Newbury on November 28 while the young pretender to the staying hurdlers’ crown, Diamond Harry, a facile winner under top-weight in a Listed handicap at Haydock Park last month, has been entered by Nick Williams.

Former Champion Hurdle winner Katchit could make the step up in distance to the staying division while Cheltenham Festival handicap scorers Kayf Aramis and Ninetieth Minute may bid to make the step up to Grade One class.

Sentry Duty was successful at this meeting last year when taking The Ladbroke and could also take a leap up in both class and distance.

The mare Whiteoak, trained by Donald McCain, is another former Cheltenham Festival scorer and looked back to something like her best when successful at Kempton on November 23.

THE BGC LONG WALK HURDLE
Class 1, Grade 1, £100,000 Total Prize Fund. 2.05pm, Ascot, Saturday, December 19, 2009. For 4yo+ . Three miles about one furlong. Weights 11st 7lb, fillies and mares allowed 7lb. Entries closed December 1, entries revealed December 2 (16 entries), five-day confirmation stage December 14, final 48-hour declaration stage 10.00am, December 17. Form figures supplied by Weatherbys and are correct up to and including the racing of Monday, November 30.

Form Horse Age Owner Trainer
122P-4P BALLYFITZ 9 F J Mills & W Mills Nigel Twiston-Davies
U1111-1 BIG BUCK'S (FR) 6 The Stewart Family Paul Nicholls
11113-1 DIAMOND HARRY 6 Paul Duffy Diamond Partnership Nick Williams
1303-01 FAIR ALONG (GER) 7 Alan Peterson Philip Hobbs
21124-2 KARABAK (FR) 6 J P McManus Alan King
23460-4 KATCHIT (IRE) 6 D S J P Syndicate Alan King
11P2-36 KAYF ARAMIS 7 Isobel Phipps Coltman Nigel Twiston-Davies
212125/- KRUGUYROVA (FR) 6 Ronald Brimacombe Charles Egerton
100-452 LOUGH DERG (FR) 9 W Frewen David Pipe
121P//52- MIGHTY MAN (FR) 9 E R Hanbury Henry Daly
45111-3 NINETIETH MINUTE (IRE) 6 D Cox Tom Taaffe IRE
61-021F OSCAR DAN DAN (IRE) 7 Mrs Paul Duffin/D Hutton/Sean Corby Thomas Mullins IRE
00/1100- SENTRY DUTY (FR) 7 Peter Spiller Nicky Henderson
1/22400- SWEETHEART 5 Ron Huggins Jamie Poulton
0/P/3101- VIPER 7 Geoff Lloyd Reg Hollinshead
2/206-31 WHITEOAK (IRE) 6 Brendan Richardson Donald McCain Jnr

16 Entries
2 Irish-trained

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