Presenting Percy takes Ladbrokes Champion Chase test
Presenting Percy is set to face eight rivals as he has his first run for trainer Gordon Elliott in the Grade One Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal.
Owner Philip Reynolds switched his star from Pat Kelly’s stable after the nine-year-old’s winless last campaign ended with a fall in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Presenting Percy has not won over fences since showing his class in the RSA Chase at the 2018 Festival.
Delta Work and Presenting Percy among nine left in the @Ladbrokes Champion Chase @Downroyal pic.twitter.com/H8YEEUx0sa
— PA Racing (@PAracing) October 29, 2020
He will have a new rider in Denis O’Regan, because his regular partner Davy Russell is on the long-term injury list.
Half of the opposition on Saturday will come from his own stable – with Elliott also declaring Alpha Des Obeaux, Delta Work, Ravenhill and The Storyteller in a race featuring representatives from just three stables.
Henry de Bromhead is double-handed with Balko Des Flos and Chris’s Dream – while Noel Meade’s pair Snow Falcon and Tout Est Permis complete the field.
What a horse race – and what a finish 😯
Samcro beats Melon by the narrowest of margins to land the G1 Marsh Novices' Chase in a pulsating drive to the line!#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/2inc1Lgsfx
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 12, 2020
Elsewhere on the card, all eyes will be on another Elliott inmate when his dual Cheltenham Festival winner Samcro makes his seasonal reappearance in the Lough Construction Ltd Chase.
The highly-regarded eight-year-old got his career firmly back on track with victory in the Marsh Novices’ Chase.
Elliott also supplies Battleoverdoyen in a field of five – completed by Easy Game, Sizing Pottsie and Yaha Fizz.