Cheltenham review and free video replays on New Year's Day

Bay's day in the sun

Springwell Bay (11/4 joint-favourite) routed the opposition in the Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase at Cheltenham to continue the good form of Jonjo and AJ O'Neill. The training partnership have now won with six of their last 10 runners after All The Glory completed a quickfire across-the-cards double at Southwell.

Jonjo O'Neill Jr wanted no part of the early pace with Seddon getting the better of a tussle with Gemirande and Lisnamult Lad for the early lead. Seddon was still in front at the top of the hill where Colonel Harry departed but the faller wasn't the only runner to have crept closer.

O'Neill bided his time aboard Springwell Bay - who had run well in course novice chases the last twice - but asked his mount to move alongside the leader on the run to the second last and the response was immediate. With O'Neill motionless in the saddle, the question looked to be how far and when Marble Sands crossed the line in second the answer was nine lengths.

Seddon was just under three lengths away in third with Lounge Lizard over nine lengths back in fourth.

"I'd say the race probably fell apart a little bit," said the winning rider.

"They went a very good gallop in the ground; obviously Seddon got tired then at the second last. I wasn't as fluent as I'd like to be all the way round, he was a little bit careful over a few jumps and I think the ground was just getting to him so I had to change tack and try and hunt him into it.

"We always thought he was a classy horse and thankfully he got his day in the sun."

Jonjo O’Neill, joint trainer, said: “I could have ridden him myself. He jumped well, travelled well and did everything great. I was a little bit worried about the ground as they were fairly walking home in the race before, but he seemed to handle it okay.

“He (Seddon) was going pretty nicely in front, but this place takes a bit of getting. I thought he was going to win here the last time, but he was giving Jango Baie eight pounds.

“They went a good gallop there and that suits him. We have stepped him up to three miles a couple of times and he just doesn’t get that last bit and I’d say that is his ideal trip. It was a race we had looked at coming for after his last run here.

“We will see how comes out of this race, but hopefully he will come back here for the Festival and that will be Plan A. We will probably stick to two and a half miles, but it will depend on what the ground is like and we will enter him up well and hopefully pick the right one.

“The novices’ handicap chase could be the one for him at the Festival, but I’ll go back and see what AJ says.”

Berlais super in Sonic

Kalif Du Berlais (4/7 favourite) beat his two rivals in the Sonic The Hedgehog 3 In Cinemas Now Novices' Limited Handicap Chase.

Little separated the trio over the first four fences before Harry Cobden and Kalif Du Berlais went on, marginally, heading out to the back straight. They raced together until three out where Tedley nodded on landing before getting outpaced on the run to the next where Vincenzo was ridden on landing.

Vincenzo rallied but Kalif Du Berlais posted another fine leap and readily extended to win without coming under pressure.

The winning distance was nine and a half lengths.

"We've always liked him a lot," said Cobden.

"I just let him bowl away and I thought his jumping was fantastic. He doesn't ride like a five-year-old, everything was very assured, never really in any doubt.

"We've got plenty of options with where we're going to go, he'll get two and a half, but he probably doesn't want loads of mileage on the clock at such a young age. We're lucky to have him."

Trainer Paul Nicholls said: “He is some horse. He is beginning to fill his frame and do everything right now. He jumped absolutely awesome. He was foot perfect.

“It might sound stupid, but that fall he had at Carlisle, actually did him some good. He was always exuberant, but that made him think. He was just brilliant out there today. He ran quick enough at Newbury after that fall at Carlisle, but he just needed that bit of confidence. He has just taken a step forward since then. That race was made for him at Newbury and I had to run him.

“I love the way he is improving. He has only turned five today so he is still a young horse so there is a lot to come from him. I don’t know what we will do with him now. I think he would get two and a half miles without a shadow of a doubt.

“There are plenty of good races for him in the spring. Whether we go here or Aintree I don’t know, but he will have all the entries. He wouldn’t go three miles, or anything like that yet, but I’d still stick him in the Arkle as things can happen and you could stick him in the two and a half mile handicap and see what else there is.

“He will be able to run in all those better races next season as he is exciting. When you see horses jump like that it is brilliant.

“There are some good races for him and he is a good back up to the others. I’ve not got the measure of Caldwell Potter yet, or where we quite go with him, but we will get in somewhere with this horse. He might be in time a Gold Cup horse down the line as he is bred to stay and physically he is improving, but he needs time and that is the key to him.”

Diva is number one

Diva Luna (5/4 favourite) and Rules newcomer Pierrot Jaguen dominated the betting for the Richmond Villages And Bupa Care Homes Maiden Hurdle.

The mare was allowed an uncontested lead from Newton Tornado but Sean Bowen made his ground up easily on Pierrot Jaguen at the top of the hill to sit a couple off lengths off the leading pair heading to the second last.

They couldn't go with Diva Luna and Newton Tornado though and the front two throughout settled down to fight out the finish with Diva Luna proving the stronger by one and three quarter lengths.

Pierrot Jaguen stayed on up the hill to reduce the deficit to second to five and a half lengths.

Successful jockey Kielan Woods said: "She's game but I think she was just getting a bit lonely late on. We planned on taking a lead with her today but they weren't going quick enough for me over the first two and she ended up pulling me there.

"A little bit of a mistake three out but you couldn't fault her. Very happy with her run today. Ben [Pauling, trainer] was just saying he's really looking forward to getting her in the spring now, she's going to be so much better than she is now, and if she can do that when she's not feeling so good, we're really looking forward to her when she gets the sun on her back."

Paddy Power cut Diva Luna to 14/1 from 25s for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Pauling said: “That was better, but it was still nowhere near her best. I wanted her to settle in behind, and take a lead, but she locked on to the first and that was that. Woodsy has done well to save where he did as that was hard work for her first time over two and a half miles.

“At Aintree she made all, looked like she was flattening out, and then kicked clear. She wasn’t as impressive when she kicked today as that was proper soft ground on her first time over two and a half miles and she just got the job done. She was tough from the back of the last and she could have curled up, but she didn’t.

"I think she will be better over two miles as she is deadly with her speed. She will end up getting three miles in time, but at the moment she wants to get on with life so we will probably drop her back to two miles and go from there. The horse in second must be alright as they drew well clear of the third.

"I was thinking of going for the Jane Seymour over two and a half miles, but I’m thinking of now dropping her back in trip instead. It was good to just get her back in the winner’s enclosure as she is a very talented mare and is one of the best horses we have got.

“She has got to improve a lot to win a Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle but she will come back here in March and I think we will find that improvement.”

Grand plans for House as Boy labours

Odds-on favourite Broadway Boy produced a laboured performance in the Betfair Handicap Chase finishing fourth of the five runners.

Broadway Boy was unable to go with Bowtogreatness, Chantry House (8/1) and Our Power who took the second last more or less together. The 11-year-old Chantry House landed in third but he was in front jumping the last and plugged on valiantly up the hill to pull six and a half lengths clear of Our Power.

A Grade One winner at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, Chantry House was having his first run over fences since 2022 and was a popular winner for Nicky Henderson and Nico De Boinville.

The latter, mud spattered, said: "He's had some really good history in the past around here and he does love the place but at the age of 11 that's fantastic for him.

"He was slightly in the wilderness before and it's nice to get him to come back in from it. He's been running his races over hurdles, the boss schooled him over fences and he's been enjoying it.

"It's very soft ground now and I think the pace has helped him a great deal."

Henderson said: “That was terrific. We were actually going to go hunter chasing after this and I was just giving him a run to get him ready for it. I thought he was blowing up turning in as he is an enormous thing. It was amazing.

“We might now have to go for the Grand National instead now. We were trying to rekindle his enthusiasm as he was a very good horse. He has really enjoyed himself and he hasn’t been over fences for a long time. If you remember he had that fall at Wetherby a couple of years ago which hurt him and damaged his confidence.

"Last season he ran some sort of races intermittently over hurdles, but he has been very hard work to get right, however he is just lovely.

“Today he has jumped well, travelled well and followed them all around. It is lovely to see him come back and do that, but it was slightly unexpected.”

Hat-trick for 'gormless git' Strackan

Strackan (7/2) completed a treble in the Best Odds On The Betfair Exchange Handicap Hurdle.

Strackan and Idefix De Ciergues were first and second for most of the three mile contest and finished in that order. At the bottom of the hill the chasers loomed large in their wing mirrors only for Sam Twiston-Davies and Ben Jones to ask their mounts to go again and both duly did.

What A Johnny came from last to throw down the strongest challenge but his effort told on the climb to the line as he could only finish third. The winning distances were two and a quarter lengths and one and a quarter lengths.

Strackan is trained by Henry Daly and has proved a revelation after a disappointing last campaign.

The Shropshire handler said: "This time last year if you told me he would win three races this season I would have looked at you as if you had grown horns. He just couldn’t get it together. He was just very immature. I'm not sure about improving, it just happened by being a gormless git and he got quite well handicapped.

"He was like that and took a long time for the penny to drop. He spent most of the first year we had him running around Downton Hall Estate loose, on his own deciding if he was going left or right without said pilot steering him but he is a really good ride now, at home, really good, he's just clocked the system.

"You do the classic thing and look at him and think he'll enjoy a fence too in time; three hurdle races thank you very much. I think it is too late for the Pertemps as there are not many qualifiers left and I don’t think he would get in. He is rated 117 and he would need to be in the mid 120s to get in the Pertemps, plus you would need to run in a qualifier.

“He has won three nice prizes and that is the point. I’d say we would probably go chasing with him next season.”

Precious Cheltenham winner for Knight

The years rolled back for Henrietta Knight as she saddled her first winner at Cheltenham since returning to the training ranks when Precious Metal (16/1) led them home in the Listed Raceridecheltenham "Junior" National Hunt Flat Race.

Perfectly positioned on the inside, just behind the pace by Lilly Pinchin, Precious Metal responded instantly when asked to hold his position around the final turn when eventual third Intosomethinggood attempted to get up their inside.

After taking over the running from Cedar Creek, a host of rivals were snapping at their heels - including Precious Metal's Wincanton conqueror Marhaba Prince - but Precious Metal was game and resolute and ran to the line.

Newcomer Our Boy Stan was best of the rest in second with Intosomethinggood belying his 100/1 starting price in third.

Precious Metal was Knight's first Cheltenham winner since New Year's Day 2012.

Assistant trainer Brendan Powell said: “He ran well at Wincanton and I said to Brendan (Powell, son) would he be worth coming here and he said 'yes', but unfortunately he couldn’t ride him.

“Lilly (Pinchin) comes in and rides out once a week for us and she has done a great job on him. She got in a lovely position on him in about fifth or sixth down the inner, just like how Brendan said to ride him.

“One thing he does do is stay and he loves soft ground. The horse that beat him at Wincanton (Marhaba Prince) looked very fit.

“I took this lad for a gallop to Lambourn, but we haven’t killed him with work as he is still a baby. I think the hill here probably played to his strengths.

“I'll speak to Hen, but we might just put him away and come back for Aintree if it was on the soft side. I’d say something like that could be for him, but it is just great to have a winner here.”

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