Ascot Saturday preview: What the trainers say

L’Homme Presse all set for Ascot return

L’Homme Presse takes what connections hope will be the first step towards a Gold Cup challenge in the Chanelle Pharma 1965 Chase at Ascot.

The seven-year-old, trained by Venetia Williams, was an impressive winner of the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham in March and connections believe he will continue to progress and make up into a blue riband contender at this season’s Festival.

He drops back to two miles and five furlongs on his seasonal bow and looks to return to winning ways after he was beaten by Ahoy Senor at Aintree on his final start of the season, which ended an unbeaten run of five consecutive victories over fences.

Andy Edwards, who co-owns the horse with Peter Pink under the DFA Racing banner, said: “He doesn’t have to win this race for us – we will be trying to win, obviously – but it is not the be-all and end-all.

“We want him to have a good time and jump round cleanly, and it is a nice way to start the season off and build him towards the Gold Cup.”

L’Homme Presse is currently a general 10/1 third favourite for the Gold Cup behind Galopin Des Champs and last year’s winner A Plus Tard, who has been declared for Haydock’s Betfair Chase on Saturday.

Edwards added: “As time goes on, the race options are becoming less and less.

“We would have looked at the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle next week, had he not been going to Ascot.

“After that, it would have become very limited in the lead-up to Christmas. At the same time, we are very relaxed about it.

“There is more than one route to go and if he is not ready or it is not right for him to run somewhere, we won’t run him just because there are limited options to run him. We will run him if it is right, simple as that.”

Saint Calvados, winner of the Oaksey Chase at Sandown on his final run last season, also makes a return to action.

With Paul Nicholls’ string in fine form, the nine-year-old’s owner, amateur jockey David Maxwell, is relishing the chance to take on L’Homme Presse.

He said: “Saint Calvados is a serious horse. He is just the most athletic horse I have ever ridden. He is beautiful to ride.

“He has had a tendency to bleed, I think, and Paul said he had only got the hang of him towards the end of last season. He actually thinks he will have improved a bit.

“I think he wants decent ground and by Saturday it should be on good to soft, and not worse than that, which will be fine.”

He added: “It makes me smile riding in these races. You think, ‘In this world, how is this allowed?’. You look at the 1965 Chase and there are just three runners and you think, ‘How the heck am I allowed to ride in a race like that?’.”

Though he respects L’Homme Presse, who is likely to be a warm order, Maxwell added: “It is so nice to see Venetia having top-class winners again. It is fantastic.

“But you should never avoid one. Lots of funny stuff happens in horseracing.”

Coole Cody, whose bid to regain the Paddy Power Gold Cup ended prematurely when slipping on landing at the fifth fence at Cheltenham last week, could be the only other runner in the race.

He was one of the participants at Newbury’s Coral Gold Cup gallops morning on Tuesday and his trainer Evan Williams explained: “Fingers crossed we will be there. It was a nice day out on Tuesday.

“After what happened at Cheltenham, I couldn’t have gone to Ascot after that, so in a strange way, a little day out is probably just what the doctor ordered. He has been happy since.

“It is more about where we are mentally with him, after what happened to him on Saturday. That is all that matters. If there are just three runners, we will be delighted.”

There are two others declared, although Michael Scudamore’s Do Your Job ran at Ascot on Friday, and the Nicholls-trained Hitman is set to run in a graduation chase at Haydock on Saturday with Ascot as a second preference.

Henderson to monitor ground for Constitution Hill

Nicky Henderson will make a late call on Constitution Hill’s intended return to action on Saturday after admitting conditions at the course have dried out more than he would have liked.

The Seven Barrows handler has long since identified the Coral Hurdle as the intended starting point for his potential superstar, who is favourite for the Champion Hurdle after a faultless novice campaign which ended with a 22-length success in the Supreme at Cheltenham in March.

After admitting to having concerns about the fast ground in Berkshire at the start of the week, those fears appeared to have been allayed after heavy rain eased conditions on Wednesday.

However, the official going dried back to good to soft, good in places ahead of and during racing on Friday and while an area of the track will be watered overnight, a final call on whether Constitution Hill lines up will be made on Saturday morning.

Henderson said: “We will have to see what the morning brings and make a decision. I think you have three of the best horses in England (Constitution Hill, Edwardstone and L’Homme Presse) due to run on the card tomorrow and we are all a bit in the same boat.

“There was nothing wrong with the ground today, it was beautiful ground and that would not be a worry, but it’s dried back from soft yesterday and who knows what it will be tomorrow.

“We will have to walk the course tomorrow – Nico (de Boinville, jockey) will be there before me – before making a decision, and these decisions are not easy but our job is to do our best by the horse.

“We are desperate to run and I think everyone is pretty keen to see him too, but when you have a horse as good as this, why would you take any chances?”

Should Constitution Hill be given the green light to take his chance, he will be long odds-on to dispatch of his four rivals.

Henderson has not made any secret of what the Blue Bresil gelding can do on the Lambourn gallops, describing a handful of workouts as “frightening”, while a recent schooling session had him purring.

He said: “It (schooling) was extraordinary because every horse we have now has got to learn to jump a white hurdle and we have tons of them who, when you show them a white hurdle, they’re like pigeons scattering, just when they first see one – and then it’s bang, bang, bang.

“This horse just turned straight in, jumped five hurdles all on his own and was just like an arrow. It was the first time he’d seen a white hurdle and the first time he’d seen any hurdle since the Supreme.”

Constitution Hill is set to step up from two miles to the best part of two and a half at Ascot, but his trainer does not see it as a concern.

“I don’t think the trip will worry him. He was narrowly beaten in a point-to-point and the beauty of him is he’ll switch off,” Henderson added.

“If he was a free-running horse I would be frightened to death, but not with this fellow. He’ll go to sleep, I think, for as long as Nico (de Boinville, jockey) wants him to and he can switch him on as early or late as he wants to.”

Ascot clerk of the course Chris Stickels hopes overnight watering will ward off any further quickening of the ground in the Ascot straight.

He said: “We’re putting five millimetres of water on an area of ground between the last two fences that is currently good and we feel would be faster than good tomorrow if we didn’t water.

“It is very surprising (having to water after 41mm of rain in the last seven days), certainly I have never known the ground dry out as quickly at this time of year.

“But having said that, we’ve had the driest six months here I’ve ever known.”

The horse rated the biggest threat to Constitution Hill by bookmakers is Brewin’upastorm, who unseated Sean Bowen at the first flight on his reappearance at Aintree a fortnight ago.

Trainer Olly Murphy has been happy with his stable stalwart since, but is under no illusions about the task he faces this weekend.

He said: “He’s in good form, obviously he’s facing a near impossible task beating Constitution Hill, but he schooled well under Aidan (Coleman) who is back on him because Sean is going to Haydock. There’s good place prize money and we’ll do our best.

“It (Aintree) didn’t take anything out of him and he’s schooled well since.

“You can’t be afraid of one horse, they do get beat, albeit very unlikely – we’ll give it our best shot.”

Following a bitterly disappointing chasing debut here last month, the enigmatic Goshen is sent back hurdling by trainer Gary Moore.

The six-year-old likes a right-handed track but must concede 3lb to the red-hot favourite and is rated 13lb inferior.

“He’s in great order. We could have run in another novice chase at Kempton on Monday, but he can get more prize money for being placed at Ascot than he can for winning at Kempton,” said the trainer.

“He likes Ascot and somebody has got to give Constitution Hill a lead, haven’t they? We’ve got to give him a bit of weight as well, which is bonkers, but there you go.”

The Alex Hales-trained For Pleasure and Uhtred from Dan Skelton’s yard complete the line-up.

King: 'Very tough task' for Edwardstone

Alan King admits Edwardstone faces a “very tough ask” as last season’s Sporting Life Arkle hero makes his seasonal reappearance a week later than planned.

The eight-year-old was the undoubted star of the two-mile novice chasing division last season, with a five-race winning sequence culminating in victory at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Edwardstone was due to return to Prestbury Park for last Sunday’s Shloer Chase, but was taken out on the morning of the race due to the drying ground.

With alternative options thin on the ground, King’s stable star instead makes his comeback under the welter burden of 12 stone in the Jim Barry Wines Hurst Park Handicap Chase.

“It’s going to be a very tough ask, but I just need to get him started. It’s not what I wanted to do, but I had no option really,” said the Barbury Castle handler. “I didn’t want to go to Sandown for the Tingle Creek first time out really. The Tingle Creek is only a fortnight away, so let’s see how Saturday goes before deciding whether we go there. We just want to see him run a nice race on Saturday. He’ll come on plenty for it.”

Chief among Edwardstone’s rivals is the Paul Nicholls-trained Thyme White, who is 7lb higher in the weights than when impressing over the course and distance three weeks ago. Harry Fry’s Boothill and the Emmet Mullins-trained So Scottish also feature in a competitive affair.

Nicholls is well represented across the card, kicking off with Ivaldi in the opening raceshare.com Racehorse Shares From £39 Novices’ Hurdle.

A winner in France, the four-year-old finished fourth behind subsequent Greatwood Hurdle runner-up Gin Coco on his British bow at Newton Abbot. Nicholls told Betfair: “He needed his first run for us at Newton Abbot just over a month ago, where he was a a bit keen and green before tiring late on. He is a work in progress, will appreciate the easier conditions underfoot and will be suited by stepping up in trip.”

In the Ebony Horse Club Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase, the Ditcheat handler is represented by the long-absent Quel Destin and Milan Bridge, who makes his fencing debut after three wins over hurdles.

“I was very pleased with Milan Bridge’s run in second place behind Remastered over hurdles at Aintree a fortnight ago. That should have put him spot-on for his first start over fences,” said Nicholls. “He was always going to make a chaser, has done plenty of schooling at home and has a nice racing weight. He looks to have sound claims.

“Quel Destin came back into training early in the summer because he has been out with a tendon injury for almost two years. He has done plenty of steady work up our hill gallop, three times a day, followed by a couple of hours on the horse walker. But Quel Destin has been one of the hardest horses I’ve ever had to get fit and is bound to improve for the run.”

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