SHISHKIN’S STAR STILL ON THE RISE
SHISHKIN was the weekend star as he continued his relentless march towards a second Cheltenham Festival success with another dominant display at Doncaster.
Last season’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner has made a near seamless transition to the chasing game, with trainer Nicky Henderson hailing his fencing debut at Kempton in November as ‘10 out of 10’.
There was just a flicker of concern during his subsequent triumph in the Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at the same venue, before he ultimately left his rivals trailing in his wake — and it was a similar story in Saturday’s Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Lightning Novices’ Chase.
There is definitely more Altior than Sprinter Sacre about Shishkin. Much like the former, the seven-yearold can race behind the bridle for fleeting moments, before finding a gear very few horses possess.
He showed a tendency to hang a little left on Town Moor, but his jumping was perfectly sound and he could do no more than put a fair operator in Eldorado Allen in his place with the minimum of fuss.
Shishkin’s already cramped odds for the Arkle at Cheltenham contracted further off the back of this victory, and many will justifiably have him down as one of the bankers of the meeting.
Speaking from his Lambourn base, Henderson said: ‘It’s a no-win situation really. He had to do what he did — otherwise everyone is disappointed. Obviously he’s not going to run again now (before Cheltenham), and he doesn’t need to.
‘He was good — and as far as I’m concerned, it was what we wanted.’
Punters will have done well to find the winners of two of the three other feature events on the card. Aye Right and well-backed favourite Cap Du Nord were battling for the lead in the Sky Bet Chase, but both were unable to resist the late challenge of 40-1 shot Takingrisks.
Ben Pauling yesterday confirmed his intention to supplement The Cob for the
Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham, following his 25-1 success in the Albert Bartlett River Don Novices’ Hurdle.
Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden combined to win the other Grade Two — the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Yorkshire Rose Mares’ Hurdle — with 3-1 shot Miranda.