NICHOLLS GOES GR-EIGHT GUNS
PAUL NICHOLLS said it with understatement – “ours are in good shape” – after saddling an incredible 45,863-1 eight-timer.
The 10-time champion trainer sent out 24 runners and eight came home in front – among them an Ascot five-timer, including Ascot Chase hero Cyrname and Cheltenham Gold Cup fancy Clan Des Obeaux.
Ladbrokes cut King George VI hero Clan Des Obeaux to 9-2 joint-second favourite for chasing’s blue riband on March 15 after Harry Cobden’s mount streaked away to capture the Betfair Denman Chase by 11 lengths.
“He’s only seven and it’s taken him a while to get to that stage where he’s a proper racehorse. He’s there now,” said Nicholls, a four-time Gold Cup winner.
“He won the King George with plenty in hand against some very, very good horses.
“And horses that win the King George end up winning the Gold Cup – they do for us, anyway.”
Clan Des Obeaux’s two previous attempts over fences at Cheltenham resulted in seconds in the Grade 2 Dipper Chase and ultra-competitive Caspian Caviar Gold Cup in 2017.
Cyrname has also taken his form to a new level and wreaked 17 lengths of havoc on champion Waiting Patiently in the Grade 1 Ascot Chase.
The performance would have triggered a drastic cut in the seven-year-old’s Cheltenham odds, but Cyrname doesn’t hold an entry for the National Hunt Festival.
Nicholls suffered a rare reverse when Black Corton chased home Calipto in the Keltbray Swinley Chase, which proved to be the career swansong for 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Coneygree, who was pulled up.
“Wear and tear have got the better of him, so we’ll call it a day,” said an emotional Sara Bradstock, who trained Coneygree in partnership with her husband, Mark.
Al Dancer gave his trainer Nigel Twistondavies a third triumph in the Betfair Hurdle to earn a 5-1 quote for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
Meanwhile, The Jockey Club have pledged to hold an inquiry into an unsightly 50-man brawl at Haydock Park yesterday.