Cheltenham eyecatchers: Horses to follow

I was just about ready for a switch of codes come Friday. Two-year-old day at Newmarket on Wednesday had had its moments, and if autumn days can be balmy, then the Suffolk aerodrome positively was. However, the prospect of two days of competitive action at Cheltenham, had my pulse quickening and not even the unexpected horror of a rail replacement bus could dampen my enthusiasm.

Down at the paddock nice and early for the first – a handicap hurdle – and making plenty of notes: fit?; warm; will make a chaser; sweating; better for race; looked well, chasing type; sweating, on toes, carrying little condition. The last three phrases clearly describing a paddock negative. That would be three phrases describing the appearance of Wyenot, who duly won at 7/1.

The Dark Arts.

In defence of paddock observation, the horses that looked short of a run mostly performed that way. It was definitely the case with Annsam, a staying chaser that hadn't been seen since the final day of the 2022/23 season. He travelled until two out as if he retained plenty of ability and wasn't knocked about once he began to get left behind.

Annsam will presumably be back over further and fences after this. His current BHA mark is on the high side for really competitive races, but perhaps another run to sharpen him up further and his eligibility for veterans races in the new year form the basis of a plan.

One of the chasing types in the field, Support Act, didn't run any sort of race. He had had just two starts in novices over hurdles and didn't seem to have the wherewithal to cope with this type of race. His previous runs were both on soft/heavy ground, so that may have been a factor (his dam is by Buckskin).

Skelton star shines in Sky Bet

The performance of the afternoon came from Valgrand in the Sky Bet Novices' Hurdle, a Grade 2 event which prior to last season was run at the November meeting. The race attracted five winners over hurdles, all defending an unbeaten record over timber, as well as a useful Flat recruit on debut. The mare Gale Mahler was sent off at odds on, but neither she nor any of the others managed to lay a glove on the winner.

Valgrand was sharp out of the blocks, travelling with zest in front, jumping efficiently. He had all his rivals in trouble when he quickened after the second-last and kept on well, shaken up, from the last. He was 17 lengths clear by the line, producing the best performance in the race in about a decade. Yes, he was seen to advantage, but this isn't a performance that is at all flattering. My Timeform colleagues' assessment of the performance on paper is backed up by a good timefigure,

Gale Mahler had her winning run for the campaign ended at six. She got into a challenging position down the hill but was then left behind turning for home, essentially done for pace. There will be other days for her, particularly back against her own sex and probably back over further.

Some might argue that Brave Knight was the disappointment of the race. However, he'd won three races summer jumping – at Worcester, Stratford and Newton Abbot – and was no more than fairly useful on the Flat. He looked outclassed in the paddock and was put firmly in his place tackling better opposition.

The tortuous journey by rail replacement bus meant that I failed to arrive at the track in time for the official opening of the Alastair Down Press Room, but with the race named for the occasion the sixth on the card, the runners got my full attention.

The race went appropriately enough to Potters Charm, sent out from the Twiston-Davies yard, a stone's throw from Alastair's house. Potters Charm had looked exciting in winning a Ffos Las bumper and a novice hurdle at Worcester. In scoring by two-and-a-quarter lengths from Minella Sixo, he showed himself a useful novice, one ready for a step up to pattern company.

There was grit in Potters Charm's performance too, which was encouraging, though his jumping, over traditional hurdles for the first time, was sloppy and will need to get better as he faces tougher company.

Both the winner and Minella Sixo, who stepped up a good deal on the form of his debut win, were bought for a little north of £100k out of the pointing field. Even more expensive, at £140,000 after winning his only point, as a four year old, was third-home First Confession. In the paddock, it was easy to see why a horse with quite an ordinary pedigree would have fetched such a sum – he took the eye with the way he walked and he is very much a chaser on looks.

First Confession, making his hurdling debut against a field of winners, offered plenty to work on in the race as well. He got outpaced when the tempo lifted at the top of the hill, but rallied pleasingly in the straight under a sympathetic ride after the first two had gone clear. He is open to significant improvement.

Thunder needs adding to trackers

Saturday's card opened with a competitive novice handicap chase, with one of First Confession's stablemates, Lord of Thunder, perhaps the most interesting for the future. Lord of Thunder was well enough regarded to start his hurdling career in the Persian War at Chepstow last autumn and though pulled up that day, he looked promising on all three subsequent outings.

Lord of Thunder won twice at Wincanton and had been due to contest the Grade 2 novice on Trials day at Cheltenham in January. He was scratched with a self certificate that day and Saturday was his first appearance since. Lord of Thunder, a tall, chasing type, looked in good shape and was poised to deliver a challenge when he came down two out. There were plenty still in contention at that point, but he would surely have gone close.

Lord of Thunder thankfully seemed none the worse for his tumble. Compensation is surely just around the corner.

The feature race on the card, the staying handicap chase, attracted a field of 14, though all bar three of them hadn't been out since early-summer, making fitness an issue. That puts a slight question against the quality of the form, but there's no denying the right sort of unexposed horse came to the fore.

The race went, for the second year running, to Henry de Bromhead, who also supplied the second for good measure. The winner Senior Chief could be a very interesting chaser this winter. He had just four runs as a novice last time round, well fancied for the Irish National on his handicap debut in April. Senior Chief was unable to cope with that thorough test, but he got on much better with the demands of a shorter-distance race on less testing ground on Saturday. It's also perhaps significant that he was wearing cheekpieces for the first time.

Senior Chief holds an entry in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury at the end of the month, as does Saturday's favourite Broadway Boy (he ran creditably but was primed for a race on a track where he has a good record). Interestingly, the 2022 winner of that race, Le Milos, who was fifth home behind Senior Chief, hasn't been entered this time.

Le Milos spent most of last season over hurdles and finished weakly on his return to fences on his final start. This was a more encouraging run, and lack of fitness might have been the issue more than a physical problem. That he isn't in at Newbury is probably a realistic move for a stable that is among the best at planning a campaign and placing horses. Like Annsam, Le Milos will be eligible for veterans races in the new year and that may be where he is headed.

The card concluded with three races where a low sun meant that the obstacles in the straight were omitted – fine for the bumper, less satisfactory for the valuable conditions hurdle and a three-mile novice chase in which 12 instead of 19 were jumped. Twelve was still one too many for the well-fancied Yeats Star, who was well behind when he departed two out after jumping with little confidence. Yeats Star doesn't have a lot of substance and he might want a less demanding track to show his best.

Theatre Man was another disappointment in this race, cheekpieces first time having a negative effect. Hyland took advantage of others' underachieving, winning on the day for the second year running. Whether he had to improve much is open to question.

Givemefive came out on top in the four-year-old hurdle. He'd run well on the Flat a month previously and had clearly been targeted at this race. His trainer, Harry Derham, like Dan Skelton before him, was clearly paying attention when assistant to Paul Nicholls.

I'm not sure this was much of a race, in truth. Certainly in terms of paddock appearance, the eight runners were an ordinary bunch overall and I'll be surprised if it throws up many winners. Time will tell.

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