Ratings Update: Cheltenham Trials Day reaction
Tony McFadden highlights the Timeform ratings reaction following Cheltenham's Trials Day.
The Grade 1 Clarence House Chase, salvaged from Ascot's cancelled card the previous weekend, was added to the Cheltenham programme on Saturday to create a nine-race bonanza and it produced a stirring finish with (167+ from 163) digging deep to get the better of Edwardstone (174), with Champion Chase winner Energumene (178), the odds-on favourite, only third.
Editeur du Gite bagged a couple of valuable handicaps at Cheltenham last season, but he had raised his game when running out a wide-margin winner of the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton last month, capitalising on Tingle Creek winner Edwardstone's early exit.
It was assumed he was flattered by the 13-length winning margin on that occasion, when plenty of his rivals failed to fire, but he showed at Cheltenham on Saturday that there had been no element of fluke about the performance, and he now has to be considered a serious Champion Chase contender after beating the two horses who had dominated the market.
Editeur du Gite, who was given a brilliantly-judged front-running ride by Niall Houlihan, will probably have to raise his game again to confirm the placings, however, as Edwardstone and Energumene have both shown better form than they managed on Saturday and there are reasons to believe they will be tougher nuts to crack at the Festival.
Edwardstone, who tracked Energumene, traded at 1.01 on the Betfair Exchange after briefly hitting the front on the run-in, but he wasn't quite able to sustain his challenge well enough having made rapid headway from the rear to bridge the gap. Edwardstone can get closer to the level of form he showed when running out a nine-length of the Tingle Creek.
Energumene, whose only previous defeat over fences had come when edged out by Shishkin in an epic edition of the Clarence House last season, was the disappointment of the race in third. He failed to jump with his usual fluency - he made a notable error at the last which exaggerated the distance he was beaten by - but this was a rare blip from a horse with an excellent overall record. The pick of his form, including his defeat in last season's Clarence House, still marks him out as the one to beat in the division.
Paul Nicholls enjoyed a fine afternoon at Cheltenham on Trials Day, sending out a treble that started with Stage Star (154p from 144p), who won the Timeform Novices' Handicap Chase.
The Timeform Novices' Handicap Chase has a rich history - the one-two in the 2020 edition both went on to win at that season's Cheltenham Festival - and the latest renewal should also prove a strong piece of form as it featured some interesting, unexposed sorts. Top-weight Stage Star, making his first appearance in a handicap, proved a cut above his rivals, though, and ultimately ran out an impressive three-and-three-quarter-length winner from Datsalrightgino, who was 10 lengths clear of the third.
Stage Star has a patchy profile - he was disappointing on both starts in the spring last season and was also turned over at a very short price in a novice chase at Newbury in November - but he looks like a class act when on-song, as he was at Cheltenham, where he coped well with a more competitive environment than he had previously been faced with over fences.
A Timeform rating of 154p suggests that it will be graded novices rather than handicaps next on the agenda for Stage Star, who, of course, won the Grade 1 Challow Novices' Hurdle at Newbury last season. For context, seven novice chasers have earned a higher Timeform rating so far this season - there is likely to be more following the Dublin Racing Festival - and the standard is currently set by Mighty Potter (162). That shows there is more improvement needed from Stage Star, but he will be worth his place in a race like the Turners Novices' Chase.
Nicholls and Harry Cobden registered a second winner on the card with Il Ridoto (151 from 141), who also showed much improved form to land the competitive two-and-a-half-mile Paddy Power Cheltenham Countdown Podcast Handicap Chase.
There had been questions surrounding Il Ridoto's stamina - and even resolution in some quarters - following a couple of fourth-place finishes at Cheltenham where he travelled well but ultimately looked stretched by two and a half miles. However, Il Ridoto, who was fitted with cheekpieces for the first time, finally put it all together and thoroughly saw out his race to get the better of the progressive Fugitif (155 from 148) by a length with the pair pulling 15 lengths clear of the third following a sustained battle at the end of a well-run race.
The application of headgear is one possible reason why Il Ridoto showed improved form - in the region of 10 lb by Timeform's reckoning - but the change to more postive tactics may also have had an influence. The Plate, back over the same course and distance at the Festival in March, would seem like an obvious option, though Timeform's reporter nominated the Greatwood Gold Cup - a race Nicholls has dominated - as being an even better fit.
The hat-trick was completed by Hacker des Places (142 from 136), who won a strong-looking handicap hurdle under Angus Cheleda. The fancied runners came to the fore, with Hacker des Places proving game to fend off Might I (147 from 142) after kicking on entering the straight. The runner-up would have been better served by a stronger gallop back down in trip, so could be one for the shortlist in the County Hurdle.
Ahoy Senor (166 from 161) had struggled on his first few starts outside novice company but got right back on track when staying on strongly to overhaul Sounds Russian (164 from 162) in the Cotswold Chase, though the disappointing performance by the favourite, Protektorat, and a modest timefigure prompts questions about the strength of the form. Noble Yeats (167 from 166+), who was giving 3 lb to the winner and 6 lb to the runner-up, was beaten a length and a half and a length in third, and he emerged as narrowly the best at the weights. He will appreciate the slightly longer trip in the Gold Cup, while the reapplication of cheekpieces (which he wore when winning the Grand National) could also help.
Comfort Zone (136p from 130p) added to his Finale victory by landing the Triumph Hurdle Trial, paying a compliment to Lossiemouth who had him back in third when winning the Grade 3 juvenile at Fairyhouse in December. Victory for Rock My Way (136p from 128p) in the Grade 2 novice hurdle also paid a compliment to a past conqueror, in his case Weveallbeencaught who had come out on top following a sustained battle at Cheltenham on New Year's Day.
The biggest chunk of improvement shown at Cheltenham on Trials Day was by Gold Tweet (154+ from 133), who had displayed only useful form in France but produced a much-improved effort in the Cleeve Hurdle to enter the Stayers' Hurdle picture.
Gold Tweet had form over two and three-quarter miles in chases, but the furthest he had tackled over hurdles prior to Saturday was around 19 furlongs. He was clearly well served by the step up to three miles at Cheltenham, though, and his pace came in handy at the end of a steadily-run affair as he quickened up well to score by three lengths from Dashel Drasher with a bit in hand.
Gold Tweet isn't entered in the Stayers' Hurdle, but he could still be supplemented for what is threatening to be a below-par edition. For context, Teahupoo, the new Stayers' Hurdle favourite following his wide-margin win in the Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park on Thursday, is rated 162. It wasn't a strong edition of the Galmoy, but Teahupoo was still impressive on his first attempt at three miles, making light work of his rivals and the 9 lb penalty he picked up for his defeat of Klassical Dream and Honeysuckle in the Hatton's Grace Hurdle.
The feature event at Gowran, the valuable Thyestes Handicap Chase, was dominated by runners from the powerhouse stables of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott, with Mullins' Carefully Selected (153 from 147) edging the narrow verdict over Elliott's Dunboyne. Carefully Selected had only returned from a 33-month layoff at Leopardstown over Christmas.
Mullins was also on the scoresheet at Gowran with Sir Gerhard (152p), who overcame a signficant error at the third fence on his way to running out a wide-margin winner on his chasing debut. It's hard to pin down exactly what Sir Gerhard achieved in that three-runner contest, particularly as the runner-up is not the most robust or reliable sort, but he was a talented novice hurdler last season (he won two Grade 1s including the Ballymore) and adds further strength to Mullins' squad of novice chasers.
Tommy's Oscar (153p from 148) hadn't kicked on as expected in a couple of starts following his chase debut victory at Carlisle, but he produced an improved performance to land the Grade 2 Lightning Novices' Chase at Doncaster on Staurday, impressing with how well he travelled and quickened up. He has a rating that would entitle him to a crack at the Sporting Life Arkle, but it's looking like a good edition of that Grade 1 and Timeform's reporter highlighted that a top-end handicap, such as the Grand Annual or Red Rum, might suit given how well he travels.
