Henderson Hero Lights Up Dark Day, Douvan Latest And More
Starchitect Sadness Mars Guitar Glory In Feature
Saturday’s major contest of the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup is a race which will likely live long in the memory, but sadly not for all the right reasons. Tanking along in front and in the process of putting the field to the sword in this valuable contest, the David Pipe trained Starchitect looked on the verge of a career best performance, only for tragedy to strike as the horse approached the second last.
Breaking down badly due to a fractured leg, this talented performer sadly could not be saved, making this a truly heart-breaking race, particularly for the connections of the horse. In the end the big prize went to the Nicky Richards trained Guitar Pete. A Grade 1 winner in his younger years, this one snuck in at the bottom of the handicap here, and discovered plenty of his old panache to finish best of all and see of the Paul Nicholls trained favourite, Clan Des Obeaux.
But Its Tears Of Joy For Tent
Rarely have the ups and downs of the horse racing game been so amply illustrated in so short a space of time as they were in the two major contests at Cheltenham on Saturday. Following the heartbreak of Starchitect in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup, we really needed a heart-warming result, and thankfully the Nicky Henderson trained, My Tent Or Yours, duly delivered. If ever a runner deserved to get his nose in front it again was this JP McManus owned ten year old.
Having finished runner up on no fewer than seven occasions since his most recent win in 2014, with three of those second place finishes coming in the big one of the Champion Hurdle itself, few would begrudge this admirable old warrior his chance in the spotlight. The pride of his trainer Nicky Henderson was written all over his face as he struggled to hold back the tears on the back of this hard fought success over The New One and Melon.
Season Over Before It Has Begun For Douvan
One of the major breaking stories of the weekend came with the news that the Willie Mullins trained superstar, Douvan, would not make it to the track at all this season. The signs were there that all was not well in the Douvan camp when the six time Grade 1 winner was a late withdrawal from the Tingle Creek Chase earlier this month, and it seems he still isn’t quite right following the pelvic fracture suffered in last season’s Champion Chase.
Reportedly suffering from lameness at home, it is understandable that connections wish to tread carefully with one so talented and with the son of Walk In The Park only just about to turn eight years old, he does have time to get back to his brilliant best. The fellow Rich Ricci owned runner, Min, was the big mover in the Champion Chase market on the back of this news, going 3/1 from 6/1.
All Set For The Christmas Crackers
Looking ahead to the coming week, we have no shortage of action to look forward, with Newbury’s Long Walk Hurdle on Saturday seeing Unowhatimeanharry take on Lil Rockerfeller and Sam Spinner, and the Welsh Grand National on the 27th December firmly on the horizon. The pick of the lot though is of course is Might Bite vs Bristol De Mai vs Thistlecrack in the King George VI Chase at Kempton which headlines the annual betting bonanza that is Boxing Day.
