Tag Archive for: Giavellotto

Monday Musings: Raising the Stakes in September

/in /by

Placed as it is in the calendar just as the seasons seem to have turned abruptly from debilitating summer heat to breezy early autumn, Kempton’s September Stakes retains its status as a Group 3 race despite being run on Polytrack, writes Tony Stafford.

Its recent distinguished roll of honour is overshadowed by the two pre-Longchamp wins of the peerless Enable and it was no doubt with that John Gosden trainee’s exploits in mind that Andrew Balding plotted a repeat success for his Kalpana on Saturday.

Following that one’s three Group 1 places this year behind Los Angeles, Whirl and, finally, Calandagan in the King George at Ascot, but no wins, the Juddmonte filly had been promoted to favouritism for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in a month’s time.

It seemed odd that she should have been at such a short price, but no doubt last year’s late season exploits, following the September Stakes with victory in the Fillies and Mares Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot, gave the suggestion she would again be at her best in the autumn this time around.

The reruns of Saturday’s contest and that of a year ago when, under P J McDonald, she challenged on the outside two furlongs from home and drew clear for a four-plus lengths win over Lion’s Pride, had little in common as this time she couldn’t get past Marco Botti’s six-year-old Giavellotto in the closing stages.

Colin Keane challenged at almost precisely the same moment as McDonald had, on the outside, but whereas previously she accelerated then stayed on stoutly, she found very little this time. Commentator Mark Johnson called her “breezing up”, but it wasn’t long before he inserted a note of well-founded caution.

 

 

Now she has been pushed out abruptly in the Arc market, one that was further amended after events at Longchamp yesterday, to which I will return later. The consensus is that she might miss the big race in Paris – there’s always Ascot as a backup against the girls.

Giavellotto has been a terrific servant to his trainer, the six-year-old now a winner of eight races topped off by last December’s Longines Hong Kong Vase where he had the globe-trotting Dubai Honour as his nearest pursuer. Oisin Murphy took over the riding of Giavellotto when Andrea Atzeni decamped to Hong Kong at the end of the 2023 season, a move replicated this week by the ultra-professional David Probert, who looks sure to make the best of his opportunity.

The seven-year-old Dubai Honour had been off since May but made a splash with his comeback run yesterday in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden; he’s no doubt building up for another tilt at the massive prizes on offer at the end of the year around the world. His career earnings, mainly from overseas, are just north of the £5 million mark. That exceeds by £2 million the money earned by Haggas’s 118 wins and 119 places from the 142 individual runners he has sent out in the UK in 2025.

The trainer’s latest win came in yesterday’s Garrowby Stakes at York where Elmonjed, the stable second string, prevailed in a tight finish. The race though was marred by the fall a couple of furlongs from home after severe crowding of the Haggas and Shadwell number one Almeraq. His rider, Jim Crowley, and Trevor Whelan, also involved in the melee and a faller from Tiger Bay, both reportedly suffered broken legs.

Haggas remains a long way behind the big three in the trainers’ title race. I suggested the other week that Andrew Balding was coming up on the rails and now he has crept above the Gosdens into second place, by dint of nine wins from 53 runners over the past fortnight. Even Aidan O’Brien might not be in reach unless Ballydoyle wins the St Leger and has a beanfeast at Ascot’s Champions Day next month.

Aidan has secured the services of Christophe Soumillon to replace the injured Ryan Moore, and no doubt the Belgian will be at the Irish Champions fixture next weekend. Presumably then, a domestic jockey will be needed for the St Leger with Wayne Lordan also ruled out, in his case by suspension.

Haggas reckons it’s been a moderate season for him as he hasn’t been a factor in many of the top races, but his skill in handicaps has never been in doubt. He added four more on Saturday, with three of his charges starting favourite. In the case of Crown Of Oaks, overwhelmingly so as he siphoned up a contest at Ascot for horses that had not won more than one race, in laughably easy fashion.

Kneejerk reaction from the bookmakers was to promote the three-year-old to 4/1 favouritism for this month’s Cambridgeshire at Newmarket, neglecting to factor in his extreme unlikeliness to make the cut.

From his mark of 85, he gets the 4lb penalty which brings him equally with nine others at a highest possible position of 79, therefore worst case of 88. Thirty-five can run, so it will be a gamble if Haggas waits to find out if the six and half-length cantering winner gets in. He faces at least a 10lb rise, but cynical fellow trainers waiting for tomorrow morning’s new ratings might be thinking the son of Wootton Bassett could get away with a single figure uplift.

Haggas wasn’t the only four-time scorer on the day. It was Oisin Murphy’s 30th birthday on Saturday and he celebrated it by adding three further wins to Giavellotto’s. For the second time last week I marvelled at his instinctive understanding of what would suit his mount as he waited until two furlongs from home even to put Hughie Morrison’s handicapper Caprelo into contention in his two-mile handicap.

Always going comfortably, Caprelo could be seen enjoying every moment and, making use of the cutaway in the straight, he brought the improving four-year-old with a smooth run. The winning margin of three lengths could have been extended. Now Hughie will be wondering whether Caprelo’s uplift matches or even exceeds that of Crown Of Oaks!

Earlier in the week, I was at Windsor where Oisin gave hitherto disappointing Glitter Code an instinctively perfect ride which, though no fault of the rider’s, ended in third rather than first place. Oisin said that William Knight’s gelding pulled himself up when hitting the front, otherwise it might have been success at the 16th attempt.

Oisin’s skill confirmed his owner’s view that he would stay 1m4f and especially as he did so on heavy going. The snag is that Oisin will be elsewhere when Glitter Code reappears at Epsom on Thursday. He’ll be a hard act to follow.

It didn’t take the runaway championship leader long to continue the run of success over at Longchamp yesterday. Teaming up with the Japanese Byzantine Dream, he found a strong finish to edge out the Andre Fabre-trained Sosie by half a length in the Prix Foy, the trial race restricted to four-year-olds and upwards.

 

 

Murphy, who has been a regular ally of Japanese runners in Europe and the United States, reckons that, having not raced since May, Byzantine Dream would improve a little for the run and be at his peak back at the track next month.

If Soumillon had expected an instant dividend on his recently announced stand-in job for O’Brien, he would have been disappointed. First, on the strongly supported Henri Matisse in the one-mile Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, he could finish only a fading fifth to Sahlan who had just enough in hand to resist the last-gasp finish of the frustratingly unlucky Rosallion.

One bright spot here was the back-to-form close third for Ballydoyle of The Lion In Winter, belatedly finding some 2025 promise and only a neck adrift of Rosallion. The Breeders’ Cup might now be on his agenda.

Then Whirl, taken wide early in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille for fillies and mares, faded into last place having led in the straight. This race featured the most likely Arc winning performance, as Aventure drew nicely clear of her field.

 

 

Last year’s second, both in this race and then the Arc behind Ralph Beckett’s Bluestocking, she had the traditional French preparation with no run in July or August and will be at her peak as she tries to fend off Whirl’s stablemate Minnie Hawk and the rest next month. I reckon she is the one to fear.

- TS

Kalpana not a certain Arc contender after Kempton defeat

/in /by

Kalpana is not certain to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe after suffering a surprise defeat at the hands of Giavellotto in the Unibet September Stakes at Kempton.

Andrew Balding’s charge had been vying for favouritism in next month’s ParisLongchamp feature after a campaign that had seen her place in three Group One contests, including when beaten just a length by Calandagan in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on her latest start.

Kalpana was dropped to Group Three company on the Kempton all-weather in search of a confidence-boosting victory and while the 1-2 favourite appeared to be travelling well coming into the final couple of furlongs, Giavellotto ultimately found plenty for pressure and came home a length-and-a-half winner.

Paddy Power pushed Kalpana out to 12-1 from 6-1 favourite for the Arc and while Balding expects the Juddmonte-owned filly to improve for the outing, a return to Ascot for Champions Day has now entered the equation.

Balding said: “It is disappointing not to win, but I think the horse that beat us is very good. As you can, hear she is having a proper blow and hopefully that will put her spot on for whatever we are doing.

“She had a couple of weeks easy, and she will come on for that. I felt like we had done enough work, but the trouble is we are not using grass gallops at the moment. The all-weather is much easier and it is harder to get work into horses like her.

“We didn’t want it to be a falsely-run race, and it wasn’t. They went a nice even pace, and she had every chance, but a good horse has beaten her, and she will come on for the run.

“She is in the Arc and the Fillies & Mares at Ascot, but it is really where the powers that be want to go.

“This was a prep, and that (Arc) was always the plan, but we will have to see how the field develops.”

Giavellotto (9-4) was having his first start since finishing third in the Coronation Cup at Epsom in June and just his second run of the year having contest the Sheema Classic at Meydan back in April.

His trainer Marco Botti said: “We didn’t run in the Princess of Wales’s at Newmarket as sadly his scope wasn’t right a few days beforehand. With these kind of horses, you don’t want to risk anything.

“He is still lightly-raced for an older horse and there is definitely still more mileage on the clock.

“Watching it I thought it was a bit different to how it was going to happen. I thought Kalpana would have raced in front of us.

“The plan was to follow her and see if we were good enough to beat her. Oisin thought the pace was even and not very strong, so he sat second.

“He idled a little bit in front. He just does enough. He is not a horse that would just quicken away.

“Oisin said when they turned into the straight and he was winding him up and going through the gears that he responded really well.

“He said every time the filly got to him, he found an extra gear. It was a great performance. We always knew he was a good horse. He just needs things to go right for him. I’m delighted with that.”

Giavellotto was a surprise victor over Kalpana at Kempton
Giavellotto was a surprise victor over Kalpana at Kempton (Mike Egerton/PA)

Giavellotto was cut to 33-1 from 66s for the Arc by Paddy Power but Botti fears the French ground will not suit and has a defence of his Hong Kong Vase title at Sha Tin in December as his top priority.

He added: “Sadly in Europe there wouldn’t be many options for him now. We have said soft ground is not for him.

“I don’t see much for him in those couple of months before Hong Kong and we don’t really want to jeopardise our chances for that. Wasting a run on soft ground wouldn’t be ideal.

“He has an entry in the Arc. I’m sure the owners will say we have beaten the favourite so why don’t we take our chance, but personally I think the ground will be too soft for him.

“I would only run him in it on good ground, but that is very unlikely to happen as Longchamp has often been soft ground in October. At that level he needs good ground.

“We will leave it closer to the time and see what the weather does.”

Giavellotto surprises hot favourite Kalpana in September Stakes

/in /by

Kalpana’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hopes sustained a blow as Giavellotto inflicted a surprise defeat on the odds-on favourite in the Unibet September Stakes at Kempton.

Marco Botti’s globetrotting chestnut has not been seen since finishing third in the Coronation Cup at Epsom in June, and looked to have stiff task on his hands when facing Andrew Balding’s ante-post favourite for the Arc.

Kalpana landed the Group Three by nearly five lengths last term and was the 1-2 market leader to retain her title, but Giavellotto was always travelling strongly under Oisin Murphy as the 9-4 second favourite.

At the business end of the contest Kalpana did threaten to challenge for a stride or two, but Giavellotto found plenty under pressure and she could not prevent him from crossing the line a length and a half ahead.

“Credit to Oisin, he went from plan A to B as we thought we were going to sit behind Kalpana,” Botti told Racing TV.

“I thought that was what was going to happen, they had a pacemaker and we were going to follow her through and see if we were good enough to challenge her in the last furlong.

“Oisin had to go to plan B, he sat second and the pace wasn’t very strong. He picked up well in the straight and every time Kalpana got to his girths, he just found a little bit more.

“I think it’s a good performance and I’m really pleased to see him back at this level.

“He is a fighter. He’s a horse that’s probably never really got the credit for what he’s done.”

Giavellotto was cut to 33-1 from 66s for the Arc by Paddy Power, who also pushed out Kalpana to 12-1 from 6-1 favourite for next month’s ParisLongchamp highlight.

Botti added: “We just have to consider now where we go next, we’ve always said Hong Kong is the main target because the ground is going to be against us for the next couple of months.

“I wouldn’t be worried if I had to just keep him well and fresh for Hong Kong.

“He is entered in the Arc but I must admit I have never thought the race would suit him because most of the time it is run on easy ground.

“I think that will be the case and therefore it is too risky, we know he doesn’t want anything softer than good.

“Champions Day is definitely a no, I wouldn’t compromise our chances on Hong Kong for a race on soft ground.”

Kalpana takes September Stakes step to ultimate Arc aim

/in /by

Connections of Kalpana admit their Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe favourite faces a far from straightforward task in her bid for back-to-back victories Saturday’s Unibet September Stakes at Kempton.

Andrew Balding’s filly landed this Group Three prize en-route to success on Qipco Champions Day last season and while she has failed to get her head in front since, she has performed admirably to secure podium finishes in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, the Pretty Polly Stakes and the King George this term.

With the four-year-old being targeted at Europe’s premier middle-distance contest at ParisLongchamp in just over four weeks’ time, owners Juddmonte have warned she is not at concert pitch for Saturday’s assignment in Sunbury and in Hong Kong Vase winner Giavellotto she faces a serious rival.

“Hopefully she’s in good form and Andrew is happy with her, but it is a prep for the Arc and I think Andrew stated the other day that while she’s fit and well, she’s not been trained for this race,” said Juddmonte’s European racing manager Barry Mahon.

“It’s a stepping-stone towards the Arc and she had a hard race in the King George. She’s in good form and we’re hopeful that she’ll run a good race, but we have an eye on October and that’s the big day.

“In some years you can turn up for this race and it could be a 115-rated horse against plenty of 90-rated horses, but this year it’s definitely not that. Giavellotto is a top-class horse, he’s showed that season in, season out for the last few and he’ll be a tough nut (to crack).

“As long as our filly can run a good race and she shows she’s in good form, we’ll be happy and we’ll kick on to Longchamp.”

Trainer Andrew Balding is hoping to saddle Kalpana in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Trainer Andrew Balding is hoping to saddle Kalpana in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Mike Egerton/PA)

Balding is keeping his fingers crossed Kalpana can secure a confidence-boosting victory.

“They have been three really good runs this year, but she is yet to win a race and it would be nice to get the ball rolling and get back on track with a win to tee us nicely up for Paris in October,” said the Kingsclere handler.

“The Arc is one of the most important races in the calendar. Juddmonte were lucky enough to win it last year (with Bluestocking), and they have won it twice with Enable, along with plenty of other good horses, so they are no stranger to success in it, but I’ve never had a runner in the race.

“It is a privilege to train for them, and you have always got a chance of getting a good one as they breed such good horses.

“However, we still have plenty of water to go under the bridge between now and then, but the first step is Kempton Park at the weekend.”

Giavellotto has not been seen in competitive action since finishing third behind Jan Brueghel and Calandagan in the Coronation Cup at Epsom in early June.

His trainer Marco Botti said: “He’s been in good order and when we looked at the time of year and the ground is probably going to be on the easy side, which is not what he wants, we thought we’d take our chance in the September Stakes.

“He actually ran once at Kempton and won as a two-year-old and he’s also won at Newcastle, so he’s two from two on the all-weather.

“We obviously missed the Princess of Wales’s Stakes (at Newmarket in July) because he had a bad scope, so we just gave him a little bit more time as our main target is still Hong Kong and it’s a long season.

“I would say he should be pretty for fit for the race on Saturday and he’s shown his best form when he runs fresh anyway, so that’s definitely not a concern.”

Giavellotto has been an excellent servant to Marco Botti
Giavellotto has been an excellent servant to Marco Botti (Joe Giddens/PA)

On the prospect of facing Kalpana, the Newmarket-based Italian added: “She’s a very good filly and in the past this has been a good prep race for the Arc, so I can see why they’re taking that route.

“But we’re looking forward to seeing our horse back in action and we can make a plan then where we run next. He might or might not run again before Hong Kong. We have entered him in the Arc, but I never really felt he would get his ground in France at that time of the year.

“We’ll take it a step at a time, but it wouldn’t be worry me if after this race we keep him fresh and well for Hong Kong. All those things will be considered after the race.”

The Unibet Sirenia Stakes is the other Group Three on the card with a 10-strong field headed by the Charlie Appleby-trained Beckford’s Folly, who has won two of his three starts so far.

Unsatisfactory scope scuppers Giavellotto’s Newmarket defence

/in /by

Last year’s winner Giavellotto is a notable absentee after just six horses stood their ground at the confirmation stage for the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday.

Marco Botti’s stable star was a decisive winner of the Group Two feature on the opening day of the July Festival last season and rounded off his campaign with top-level success in the Hong Kong Vase.

Having finished a creditable third in last month’s Coronation Cup at Epsom, Giavellotto was being readied to defend his crown on the July Course before being scratched on Friday morning.

Marco Botti trains Giavellotto
Marco Botti trains Giavellotto (Mike Egerton/PA)

Explaining his absence, Botti said: “We scoped this morning, he had a few coughs and we weren’t happy with the scope. Tomorrow (Saturday) he was meant to be doing a piece of work and we felt he wasn’t going to be 100 per cent.

“It’s disappointing because this race has been in my mind for a long time and there’s not many left in the race, but on the other hand the horse’s welfare comes first and if we feel he’s not going to be 100 per cent, there is no point in going to the races.

“These things normally just take a few days and then they are OK and it’s just unfortunate that we’re so close to the race and were meant to gallop the horse tomorrow. We just felt it’s not the right thing for the horse to gallop with a little bit of infection, but I’m sure it will clear up soon.”

Botti is unsure where Giavellotto will make his next appearance, with a return to Sha Tin in early December top of his agenda.

The trainer added: “We have made an entry in a Group One in Germany in August and long-term we would obviously like to run him in Hong Kong, so we’ll work backwards from that.

“As the season goes on into the autumn another thing we have to bear in mind is the ground, because he doesn’t want it soft.

“He has an entry in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but we made that entry a long time ago and I would say at this stage it’s not a race we’ll probably go for. All the other options will be considered and Hong Kong would be the priority basically.”

A small field is guaranteed for the Princess of Wales’s Stakes, with Charlie Appleby leaving in Arabian Crown and El Cordobes and John and Thady Gosden confirming both Military Academy and Palladium.

The other contenders are James Owen’s Wimbledon Hawkeye and the Clive Cox-trained Ghostwriter, who was last seen finishing third behind Godolphin’s globetrotting star Rebel’s Romance in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Maximized winning the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom
Maximized winning the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom (Adam Davy/PA)

Six entries have been made for the Group Three Bahrain Trophy, including Aidan O’Brien’s pair of Galveston and Scandinavia, with the former of particular interest after finishing third in the King Edward VII Stakes at the Royal meeting.

Andrew Balding’s Furthur, who came even closer to Ascot success with a close-up second in the Queen’s Vase, also features.

Nine juveniles are in the mix for what looks a strong renewal of Kingdom of Bahrain July Stakes.

Appleby could saddle Norfolk runner-up Wise Approach and the unbeaten Maximized, while Ed Walker’s Do Or Do Not also brings strong form the table having finished second in the Coventry Stakes.

O’Brien’s sole representative is Curragh maiden winner Brussels, with Eve Johnson Houghton’s Salisbury scorer Zavateri, Paul and Oliver Cole’s impressive Goodwood victor Jel Pepper and Hugo Palmer’s dual winner Tricky Tel others of interest.

Botti keen on Princess of Wales’s repeat for Giavellotto

/in /by

Marco Botti is likely to lower Giavellotto’s sights with the defence of his Princess of Wales’s Stakes title now seemingly favourite for his next run.

The Hong Kong Vase winner finished a fair third in the Coronation Cup, with three individual Group One winners behind him.

Given he was beaten over seven lengths by Jan Brueghel and Calandagan, Botti feels Giavellotto might benefit from dropping back to Group Two level at Newmarket rather than tackling the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

“He ran his race. The ground on Friday was just on the easy side of good and Oisin (Murphy) said after the race that while it wasn’t soft ground, it wasn’t quick enough for him,” said Botti.

“He’s at his best on fast ground but that said, he might have only finished a couple of lengths closer, it didn’t make the difference between winning and losing.

“It was still a good run with Group One winners behind him and he gives his best all the time.

“I think we stay at a mile and a half but I said to the owner after the race that we had to be realistic. We were thinking about the King George but that might be a little ambitious and maybe we should go back to Newmarket for the race he won last year, the Princess of Wales’s.”

Monday Musings: Chinese Takeaway

/in /by

So Oisin Murphy didn’t stay home this autumn/early winter for a full English, but instead filled his boots with the ultimate Chinese takeaway, writes Tony Stafford. Oisin didn’t follow my suggestion he might challenge for the 26-times champion Sir Gordon Richards’ best of 269 in a single year, and stands marooned on 215 in the year of his fourth championship. Put another way, Oisin, you have only 23 titles more to go!

I’m sure he and his agent will be content with the £150k or so he picked up in Hong Kong yesterday, courtesy of a win on Giavellotto and fourth on The Foxes in his two rides on the richly-endowed Longines-sponsored card at Sha Tin racecourse. I expect it took Sir Gordon a fair few of his 4,870 winners to match Oisin’s haul over the 2min 27.53 secs of the Vase.

The Marco Botti-trained Giavellotto picked up £1.3 million and change for winning the Vase over a mile and a half. He had the William Haggas world traveller Dubai Honour two and a half lengths behind in second under Tom Marquand with Luxembourg, second to the Hong Kong supreme champ Romantic Warrior in the ten-furlong Cup last year, only fifth for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore.

Giavellotto can lay claim to being one of the most publicly underrated and indeed under-noticed of performers, if not by the handicappers who have him on 119. This year, he won the Yorkshire Cup over 1m6f at York in May and the Princess Of Wales’s Stakes over yesterday’s trip at Newmarket in July. He warmed up for his trip to the Far East with a third over 1m6f, three lengths behind the peerless Kyprios in the Irish St Leger in September.

As an entire he could presumably have been trained for the King George at Ascot in July and/or the Arc early in October – that’s already nine weeks ago! – and maybe next year his realistic trainer might give those races a whirl.

Italian-born Botti quietly goes about his business in Newmarket from where his 93 horses to run picked up 49 wins, 87 places and earnings of £921,714. Yesterday’s victory easily more than doubled that sum on its own.

The big day for Hong Kong racing also provides a showcase for its own champions and the afore-mentioned Romantic Warrior made it 17 wins worth almost £18 million in 22 career starts following a third successive victory in the Cup race with its £2.25 million to the winner prize.

Andrew Balding was rewarded for his enterprise in sending The Foxes to Hong Kong, the four-year-old finishing just under five lengths back in a lavish (£240k) fourth place under Murphy. The Foxes had beaten Dubai Honour when they met in Newcastle’s Churchill Stakes, appropriately so as he’s a colt by Churchill.

Romantic Warrior was almost unbackable but, to the Sha Tin and World Pool adherents, also just about unbeatable at 10/1 on and won as he and his rider liked, the identical price as Sprint winner Ya King Rising, that one less far down the road but getting there. He stands with nine wins from 11 starts. Ya King Rising won a shade cosily under Zac Purton, one of the regular top Australians that have made Hong Kong their own along with that race’s runner-up Hugh Bowman.

But it’s the New Zealand-born James McDonald who really has the game sorted. One of the leading riders in Australia for many years, he manages to organise his trips to Hong Kong to coincide with Romantic Warrior’s runs and has been on him for his past eight races, the last seven wins in a row starting with the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in October last year.

They also won a Group 1 race together in Tokyo on June 2 this year, one of only four 2024 runs before yesterday. The son of Acclamation was sold as a yearling at Newmarket by his breeders Corduff Stud, fetching 300,000 Guineas to the bid of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Peter Lau Pak Fai, his owner, will be eternally grateful that it was his number that came up when the annual ballot for owners and horses was enacted.

James McDonald also picked up the winning rider’s share of a second £2 million to the winner race on the 8/5 favourite Voyage Bubble in the Mile. Bizarrely, he was in the television booth when last month’s Melbourne Cup was being run, having no ride in the race, after which he set straight off for his regular Hong Kong stint. Even when he won the Melbourne Cup three years ago on the mare Verry Elleegant, his pickup from the £2,584 million first prize would not have matched yesterday’s combined bounty.

Saturday’s racing at home was massively affected by the latest hurricane to trouble our shores, ending hopes of Aintree staging the Becher Chase over the Grand National obstacles, in which Kim Bailey was denied a run for his smart emerging talent Chianti Classico.  Kim woke up on Saturday morning with two fancied runners each at Aintree and Chepstow and instead none got a run. Usually in the winter, when potential winning opportunities are withheld in this way, they only rarely get a suitable race to make up for it.

Jumps trainers must be getting so frustrated. The wet summer when the big horses weren’t generally in action proved difficult for the fast-ground regulars. Then as the early autumn became very dry, many trainers waiting for a first run for their good horses were understandably worried about sending them into action on quick ground.

Then came another very wet spell, with meetings lost and good-ground high-class horses also being put at a disadvantage.

Sandown survived on Saturday but surely it’s a reflection on these problems that the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novice Chase at Sandown attracted a final field of four. These were the Dan Skelton-trained favourite L’Eau du Sud; two from Gordon Elliott, Touch Me Not and Down Memory Lane; and just one more from the UK, the Kieran Burke-trained Soul Icon, the 16/1 outsider.

L’Eau du Sud didn’t have as much to spare as when winning on comeback and chase debut by 11 lengths at Cheltenham, but this race has always been a decent guide to the Arkle Novice Chase at Cheltenham. He will be going there certainly as one of the best of the home team.

The money on offer for that race was 56k, 20k, 10k with more than five grand for the horse that brought up the rear. You wonder sometimes how owners that moan about prize money as I feel they are entitled to most of the time, explain a case like this when so few found their way to such a historic novice race. All the novice chasers in the UK cannot be rubbish, or can they?

An hour later it was the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase and Jonbon won this for the second year in succession for the McManus/Henderson/de Boinville team.

The Tingle Creek was worth almost twice as much as the Henry VIII, Jonbon picking up a few quid short of £100,000 for his eight-length defeat of Irish raider Quilixios. Two of the three remaining UK runners fell, including Edwardstone, so again each of those that did get round got a handy prize, around 40k, 20k with 10 grand for fourth.

It’s hard to believe with the recent flat season still so fresh in the memory that when my article appears in two weeks’ time, the days will be getting longer again. Some people are counting down to Christmas, but there may be many that will be sensing Cheltenham 2025 coming over the horizon. Three months? It’ll go in a flash!

- TS