Philippe’s Pertemps potential
WINNER MACHINE
THE Fergal O’Brien trained ALAPHILIPPE doesn’t have the miles on the clock his double-digit age might suggest.
He finished fifth (Albert Bartlett) and second (Pertemps Final) in consecutive Cheltenham Festivals before his career was derailed by more than 18 months off with injury.
On his return this season, a belated attempt at novice chasing didn’t prove successful but, returned to hurdles, OBrien’s (right) trainee was travelling sweetly when unluckily losing his footing and unseating Paddy Brennan five fights from home in a Lingfield race won by Nurse Susan.
In the Pertemps Qualifier (3.08) at Chepstow, he runs from 3lb lower than when runner-up at the Festival.
The surprise was not that SAM BROWN ran so well behind Shishkin in Newbury’s Denman Chase but that he was backed from 25-1 to 11-2 so to do.
That confidence was not misplaced as he was beaten just 10 lengths by the Gold Cup contender and it would have been closer had he not hit the final cross fence hard.
But for two years off as a young horse, Anthony Honeyball’s veteran may have scaled great heights.
Three fine runs in a row show his enthusiasm is undimmed and, against a number of fancied horses with good-ground profiles, he could pick up a prize in the mud of Kempton’s Coral Trophy (3.37). HELNWEIN is at the other end of his career and looks a horse of enormous potential. A naturally fluent jumper, strong traveller and full-brother to Willie Mullins’ Arkle Chase entry Uncle Phil, he was undone in a Listed hurdle at Sandown last time by the final hill on heavy ground after looking the winner.
In-form trainer Alan King has previously won the Dovecote Hurdle (3.00) and been second twice in recent seasons.