ALTIOR TAKES HIS BOW AS SUPERSTAR
World record win No.13 over fences
Altior returned to emotional scenes and two spontaneous rounds of three cheers after the most dramatic win of his career in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, in which he looked in serious trouble when challenged on either side by Sceau Royal and Politologue at the last.
It was his second win in the race and his fourth successive victory at the Festival, and in winning he added two significant records to his extraordinary CV. It was his 13th successive win over fences, claiming outright the world record for the longest winning sequence over fences, and his 18th Jump race victory, equalling the record of fellow four-time Festival winner Big Buck’s.
In winning by a length and three quarters and the same from Politologue and Sceau Royal, the Nico de Boinville-ridden chaser made harder work of it than expected.
Trainer Nicky Henderson said: “It’s nice when it’s over. It’s like hitting your head against a brick wall. The only nice bit is when it stops.
“When you see the crowd like that around the winner’s enclosure it’s like going back to the Sprinter Sacre days and it was great that Sprinter was here this morning and they gave him a great welcome. How lucky are we, to retire one and then find another. You can’t believe it’s possible really and it makes it all worthwhile. He’s some star.”
Henderson paid tribute to the part played by the team behind Altior at home and to jockey De Boinville.
He said: “The whole team is what it is all about and they have been brilliant. Their real work was getting Santini here whereas this fellow has been more straightforward this year.
“Nico started with us as an amateur and he was known as Sprinter’s work rider. That’s where he made his name, but now he’s made it right and properly at the top.”
ON TOPOFTHEGAME IN RSA
Paul Nicholls evoked memories of the great Denman when describing 4/1 shot Topofthegame, who produced a superb performance to land the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase.
Topofthegame produced a superb leap at the last under Harry Cobden and kept on gamely up the Cheltenham hill to see off the persistent Santini (3/1), trained by Nicky Henderson in a thrilling finish to score by a half-length. Gordon Elliott’s Delta Work, the 15/8 favourite, was a further length and three-quarters behind in third.
Topofthegame, owned by Paul Barber and Chris Giles, runs in the
colours of Denman, who landed the 2007 RSA Chase, before going on to capture the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2008.
Nicholls said: “Topfothegame is a very smart horse. He has not been the easiest to train but, on his day, he is good. I haven’t said too much to Harry about how to ride him – I left it to him and just told him to take his time whatever he does – and he gave the horse an absolutely brilliant ride.
“He is nearly 18 hands, he is massive, and is not the easiest to train because he is a light horse. I didn’t want to go to the Reynoldstown, give him a hard race and leave it behind there.
“I just had to try and get the balance right – get him ready for here and not too light – and we have always believed that he would be a serious, serious horse.
“He is not unlike Denman. We’re really excited to have him. He is rated pretty much the same as Denman was at this stage of his career. Denman was a grinder and this horse has plenty of boot. He travels well and jumps well – he is only going to get better.”
CITY ISLAND A FESTIVAL FIRST FOR RACE SPONSOR MULRYAN
Owner of 8/1 chance City Island delivered an unforgettable Festival first for Ballymore’s founder and chief executive Sean Mulryan as he won the race his firm sponsors.
Mulryan, whose wife Bernadine is the registered owner and described winning as “absolutely brilliant”, was thrilled and said: “It’s a dream come true. It’s my first winner in Cheltenham at the Festival, and to win our own race is very special. This is a magic place, and to win any race here is fantastic. We are very happy.”
Trainer Martin Brassil won the Grand National with Numbersixvalverde in 2006 and trained dual Grade One winner Nickname, but victory here gave him huge satisfaction.
He said: “It’s been a long time coming, but you need good horses. I wanted to bring the horse here unbeaten and then I thought we might have a chance of doing something good.
“He’s a precocious sort of horse compared to some of those big, strong chasing types, and he’d pleased us every time.
“He was improving as he came along, but whether he was good enough to have his first Graded race in this place we didn’t know. It’s great to have a Festival winner on the CV. It’s wonderful.”
WILLIAM WARMS NICO UP
Nico de Boinville took the Coral Cup aboard the Nicky Henderson-trained William Henry.
William Henry, owned by Dai Walters, to whom de Boinville’s first ever Festival winner Whisper – who won the Coral Cup, in 2014 – belonged, beat the Willie Mullins-trained Wicklow Brave by a short-head at 28/1.
De Boinville said: “That was a good training performance. He’s only had one run this season and he pulled up. Wind op, and then to come here and do that was some performance.
“William Henry found an awful lot and that wind operation through January helped him. I just had in mind that sometimes horses that have had wind ops take a bit of time to realise mentally that they can go through with it again, so I didn’t want to get after him too much down the hill, and I was just happy to sit and let him fill up until we turned in, and then I could have a go at it.
“I wasn’t quite sure if I had got there. You have an inkling.
“I had a lovely tow around by Ruby (Walsh on favourite Uradel). I thought wherever Ruby sits, I am going to sit in behind – and we had a dream position. On this ground particularly, you can bide your time and hopefully they have a few gears at the end.”
‘NOT A GOOD HORSE, A GREAT HORSE’ SAYS EDDIE O’LEARY OF TIGER ROLL
Tiger Roll continued building his place among the Cheltenham Festival’s alltime favourites when winning his fourth race at the famous meeting.
His victory in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase was his second in the race, following last year’s success, and complemented other wins in the Triumph Hurdle (2014) and National Hunt Chase (2017).
To that quartet can be added success in the 2018 Grand National, yet it could be argued this triumph, as the 5/4 favourite, was his best performance, and certainly one of the easiest.
He tanked through the race under jockey Keith Donoghue and trounced his rivals, beating the 2016 winner Josie’s Orders (15/2) by 22 lengths, with last year’s runner-up, Urgent De Gregain (17/2) a further three-quarters of a length back in third. Paddy Power shortened the winner to 6/1 from 10/1 to repeat his Aintree victory.
Eddie O’Leary, brother of Michael and part of the Gigginstown House Stud team which owns Tiger Roll, said: “He’s an amazing horse. He’s not a good horse, he’s a great horse.
“He looks to be a freak of nature, and people forget he had stopped racing. He was sick of the game and didn’t want any more of it, then Keith Donoghue took him hunting and went down the cross-country route and he got his mojo back. Now he loves racing, and it’s all down to Keith, Gordon Elliott and the team at home.
“The cross-country discipline really invigorated him, so while people dismiss this race, don’t forget what it can do for some horses.”
OUTLAW PROVES A CHELTENHAM NATIVE
Joseph O’Brien recorded his first official victory at the Festival following the success of the well-supported 7/2 favourite Band Of Outlaws in the Fred Winter.
Ridden by J J Slevin, registering his second Festival success, the four-yearold son of Fast Company overcame trouble in the home straight to quicken clear in impressive fashion, scoring by two lengths.
O’Brien, who steered Camelot (2012) and Australia (2014) to victory in the Derby as a Flat jockey, was delighted to land another big-race winner in his burgeoning training career. The Piltown handler also saddled Rekindling to win the Melbourne Cup in 2017.
O’Brien said: “I am delighted for Jason Carthy, the owner and everyone. J J gave the horse a fantastic ride and we are over the moon.
“We were fairly confident and thought he could be better than a handicapper. Band Of Outlaws has not done much wrong over hurdles, though in a handicap it is hard to know and he was carrying near to topweight.
“He is not an easy ride because you cannot get there too soon on him. It got a bit tight between horses and J J let them have the room before coming back around them, which was the right thing to do because as soon as he gets there, he has a look.
“We thought we had a few chances yesterday. They all ran well, but it is nice to get a winner.”
ENVOI ALLEN JUSTIFIES THE HYPE
Envoi Allen came into the Festival with an unbeaten record, a lofty reputation and a £400,000 price tag, and he justified the hype with a game performance to land the Champion Bumper.
Ridden by amateur Jamie Codd, the five-year-old son of Muhtathir travelled with menace throughout the two-mile event and hit the front entering the home straight.
Envoi Allen responded willing to Codd’s urgings to fend off the persistent challenge of Blue Sari (7/2) to justify 2/1 favouritism and score by three-quarters of a length.
Elliott, recording a 24th Festival victory, said: “Envoi Allen is a very nice horse.
“We have always thought a lot of him and he did well to win. He is a horse for the future and we are delighted with his win today.
“I think that will probably be Envoi Allen’s final run of the season. He will then go novice hurdling next year.
“He is going to end up being a threemile chaser one day and the future is very exciting with him.”