Clan’s going for Gold in Cheltenham showpiece
(218) S C Williams 4 9-7 (D) .......... O Murphy (39) G Baker 4 9-7 (CD) .............. George Rooke (5) (16) K Dalgleish 4 9-6 (D) ............. C Rodriguez
(30) Mrs L Stubbs 6 9-5 (D3) .............. .......................................................................... Hollie Doyle
........ F Norton ...................... P Mulrennan
...................... S Gray
20-1 Held up, headway over 2f out, switched right when not clear run over 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on, won at Newcastle 1m fls hcp 0-95 (3) in Feb beating Dandys Gold by 2 3/4l, 7 ran. 11-4 Taken to near side rail and led, quickened over 2f out, ridden inside final 2f, headed inside final furlong, no extra and lost 2nd towards finish, last of 3, 1 1/2l behind Mubtasimah at Newmarket 1m flls hcp 0-95 (3) gd in Aug. 9-2 Settled last, ridden over 1f out, no impression, last of 5, 5l behind Solar Heights at Chelmsford City 1m fls cond stks (2) pol in Feb. 15-2 Chased leaders, went 2nd inside final 2f, edged right over 1f out, ridden inside final furlong, ran on to lead final 100 yards, won at Wolverhampton 7f fll hcp (5) beating Javelin by nk, 6 ran.
3-1 Not much room start, held up towards rear, headway and switched right over 1f out, kept on, no impression on winner, 3rd of 8, 4l behind Fantastic Flyer at Chelmsford City 6f fll hcp (4) pol in Feb.
11-1 Held up mid-division, headway to challenge towards stands side over 2f out, led inside final 2f, ridden and headed entering final furlong, kept on same pace, 4th of 8, 3l behind Lofty at Newcastle 7f hcp 0-85 (4) in Feb.
14-1 Tracked leader, effort over 1f out, faded final furlong, last of 5, 6l behind Pinnata at Kempton 1m hcp (3) pol in Feb.
5-2fav Held up, ridden over 1f out, never a factor, 9th of 14, 9l behind Count D’Orsay at Catterick 5f hcp 0-100 (2) sft in Oct.
7-2 Raced keenly, led, ridden 1f out, headed towards finish, 4th of 7, 1 1/2l behind Hareem Queen at Lingfield 5f Listed stks (1) pol in Feb.
11-2 Prominent, effort over 1f out, kept on same pace, 5th of 6, 1 1/4l behind Top Breeze at Lingfield 5f hcap (2) pol in Feb.
CLAN Des Obeaux can lay all stamina doubts to rest by staying every yard of the extended three-and-aquarter miles to claim the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He may have been only fifth in chasing’s blue riband prize last year behind Al Boum Photo, but it was only from the final fence that he was run out of at least a place.
There is every reason to believe he is a stronger horse this time round – and at the age of eight, he may be reaching his peak.
That seems to be the case, judged on his two runs so far this season.
Clan Des Obeaux delighted trainer Paul Nicholls when finishing second to Road To Respect in Down Royal’s Champion Chase, before winning the King George VI Chase for the second successive year at Kempton on Boxing Day.
His display to beat his esteemed stablemate Cyrname by 21 lengths was even better than the previous year, when he had Thistlecrack back in second place.
Nicholls’ decision not to run him again before Cheltenham can pay off.
Al Boum Photo looks the main danger as he seeks to repeat last year’s victory, while Lostintranslation would be a threat if he could repeat the form he showed when winning the Betfair Chase at Haydock.
Greaneteen can take his winning run to four in the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase - and give the Nicholls stable a double.
This is by far the toughest test the lightly-raced six-year-old has experienced, but his vastly-experienced trainer would not put him through it if he did not think he was up to it.
Dan Skelton has kept Allmankind fresh for the JCB Triumph Hurdle after a brilliant first half to the season.
The Alcester trainer did think of running him on Festival Trials Day in January, but is happy he scrapped that plan.
The front-runner made a convincing case when winning the Grade One Finale Hurdle at Chepstow at Christmas, to take his unbeaten record over jumps to three.
While Allmankind blazes the trail, he has been saving plenty for the end of the race. That looks his main weapon.
Thyme Hill can benefit from the step up to three miles for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
Philip Hobbs’ exciting six-year-old was third in the Champion Bumper at last year’s Festival and has won all his three starts over the smaller obstacles this term.
He was doing his best work at the finish when taking the Grade One Challow Novices’ Hurdle over an extended two-and-a-half miles at Newbury. The extra distance can see him in an even better light.
Things did not go right for Stolen Silver in the Betfair Hurdle, but he can put the record straight by winning the Randox Health County Handicap Hurdle.
Nigel Twiston-Davies’ five-yearold was one of the horses to suffer from a standing start. Slowly away, he never got into the contest but made good late progress to finish eighth, only six and a quarter lengths behind the winner Pic D’Orhy.