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Jet roars to Bartlett success

French raider Jet Blue stayed on strongly to run out a convincing winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Market leader Skyjack Hijack set out to make all in his bid for a seventh straight success but this step up to Grade Two company found him out and Jet Blue (9/2) breezed past in the home straight under James Reveley.

Despite making a bit of a mess of the final hurdle, the five-year-old kicked again up the hill to score by six and a half lengths from Western Knight.

Jet Blue had previously claimed three bumper victories and one success over timber for Hugo Merienne but was having his first outing for David Cottin at Prestbury Park.

Winning owner Professor Caroline Tisdall, celebrating her birthday, said: “I want to cry! Before the race he looked very young and small compared to our big, English chasing types, but he’s a tough little horse.

“This is a new buy – this was his first race for me. My other horses are with David Pipe and he said why don’t you have horses in France and earn some money, because I wasn’t earning money in England.

“The horses in France earn so much that they actually support other horses in England.”

Reveley said: “We went a strong gallop and he was a bit sticky early doors, but as the race went on I was more positive on him and I felt like the winner a long way out.

“I didn’t want to go too far ahead and I knew my horse would be better once he was more in the race and he proved me right.

“For a French horse he’s got an English style in him because he’s a strong stayer and he’s tough.

“He maybe lacks a little gear for the French races as they’re over a shorter distance and I think he’s an out-and-out three miler.”

Libberty Hunter proves patience pays off

Evan Williams is excited to see how far Libberty Hunter can climb the chasing ladder after making a successful start to his campaign at Cheltenham.

A dual winner as a novice over fences last season, including a New Year’s Day verdict at Cheltenham, the eight-year-old went on to finish second in the Grand Annual at the Festival before rounding off his season with a third-place finish in a Grade One contest at Aintree.

Following a dry autumn, Libberty Hunter (7/2) was making a belated comeback in the BetMGM Handicap Chase and cruised into the slipstream of the pacesetting 5/2 joint-favourite Issar D’Airy halfway up the home straight.

Once given his head, the Williams runner soon sealed the deal, finishing off strongly without being asked for maximum effort and passing the post with four lengths in hand.

Master Chewy, the other joint-favourite, finished third.

Williams said: “We’re delighted. We’ve been waiting to run for a few weeks and you’re thinking ‘Jesus, is the rain ever going to come’! We had to start to day and it was nice he’s done it the way he did.

“He travelled nicely and jumped well. He’s obviously improved from last season, which is always nice to see with a second season chaser. It was just a good starting point.

“We’ve been very slow to get going this season. I’m a bit of an old dinosaur I’m afraid and I’ve got a lot of horses that want proper winter ground.

“I’ve learnt over the years that going a week too early is a lot worse than going a week too late and that bit of rain last night made the ground a little bit more like what we wanted.

“He’s not a young horse, but he hasn’t got a lot of miles on the clock. Some of them progress and some don’t, but this fellow looks like he’s getting stronger.”

Whether Libberty Hunter sticks to major handicaps or tests the water at graded level later in the season remains to be seen, with Williams in no rush to firm up future plans.

He added: “It’ll be very interesting to see what happens really – he’s won of 144 today.

“Our season hasn’t panned out as I would have liked, not just with this horse but a lot of my horses. I’m so far behind getting started and then the season takes a different path.

“It all depends how they come out, what happens with the weather and we’ll go from there.

“I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas! I think we’ve just got to keep things fluid.”

Brown Advisory on radar for Coluleurs

Rebecca Curtis looks to have unearthed a horse who could send her back to the big time after Haiti Couleurs put up a fine display at Cheltenham on Saturday.

The Welsh trainer is no stranger to success in the Cotswolds, having enjoyed Festival glory with the likes of Teaforthree, At Fishers Cross and Stayers’ Hurdle hero Lisnagar Oscar. However, it has been a while between drinks for Curtis, with the latter’s shock win four and a half years ago her most recent at graded level.

A dual winner over hurdles at the end of last season, Haiti Couleurs finished second on his chasing debut at Chepstow in October before going one better in some style at Aintree last month.

He was a 4/1 shot to follow up in the Josh Wyke Birthday Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase and jumped accurately throughout under title-chasing Sean Bowen before digging deep in the home straight to prevail by two and three-quarter lengths.

The staying-on Transmission pipped the 11/8 favourite Peaky Boy to second.

“He just keeps improving this horse. He obviously had a nice novice season (over hurdles) last season, but he struck into himself quite badly the year before and he actually he missed a full year, so he’s still slightly backward for his age,” said Curtis.

“With racing he keeps improving and I don’t know where he’ll end up really. I really fancied him for the National Hunt Chase because he stays all day, but Sean said he’s improved that much since his Aintree win you wouldn’t know if he’ll end up in the Brown Advisory.

“It’s nice to be back here. We’re getting those types of horses again which will hopefully keep us on the map anyway.”

Dead-heat drama for Bowen brothers

There was a thrilling finish to the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham as Bowen brothers James and Sean shared the spoils via a dead-heat between Quantock Hills and Teriferma.

James looked to have claimed a decisive advantage when the Warren Greatrex-trained Quantock Hills (11/2) produced a fine leap at the final flight to forge clear.

However, Sean conjured up a late charge from 18/1 shot Teriferma to draw level right on the line, giving Jack Jones a second straight success in this race following An Bradan Feasa’s victory last year.

Irish raider Total Look paid the price for a couple of costly jumping errors in the latter stages and was a neck back in third as the 11/8 favourite.

Greatrex said: “It’s a bit of a family affair for the Bowens, and our fellow is a lovely horse. He never ran on the Flat and he’s just inexperienced really. He travelled through the race very well and I think he’s got a very bright future.

“He just wandered when he hit the front – it’s a big place when you come here for the first time. I thought we’d won initially and then I thought we were beat. He was on his own so he had nothing to run with, but he’s a good horse, I’d say.

“He could be a horse for the Boodles (Juvenile Handicap Hurdle). I think he’ll be better on softer ground, he looked the winner from a long way out and we’ve just got there a bit too soon really, I suppose.”

He added: “That’s two runners and two winners at Cheltenham this season for us now – I might not come back! Obviously, what happened to Abuffalosoldier at the last meeting was very sad, but he won and showed everyone what he could do that day. It’s part of the job unfortunately.”

Jones said: “Very happy, it’s a bit of a strange feeling having a dead-heat, but I suppose it’s a winner, isn’t it?

“It was very pleasing. I think if he’d finished second, if he’d dead-heated or if he’d won outright, he was probably the one to take out of the race from where we were and how we hit the line. It’s funny because we actually underbid on Quantock Hills in France, which is very strange, and for the two Bowen boys to be dead-heating as well.

“We’ve had our horse two or three months now and he’s been very straightforward. We won this race last year with An Bradan Feasa, who would be a bit more of a thinker I suppose, whereas this lad is a gent.

“Sean said he jumped a bit big and we were slightly on the back foot. He missed three out and was a bit further back than ideal due to his jumping, but the way he’s finished, you’d rather be coming up that hill than slowing up and I’m delighted.

“I thought we were massively overpriced. He’d won two hurdle races and finished second with a big weight, so I don’t know how we’ve gone off at 18-1.

“I thought this lad was a better horse than the lad last year, his schooling had been good and there was no reason why he wasn’t going to be a good horse. The Boodles would be a logical step. When Willie Mullins unleashes his juveniles, we’ll probably leave that race (Triumph Hurdle) to them.”

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