Matt Brocklebank picks out three races from Cheltenham's Showcase Meeting that taught us plenty as the new jumps season starts to pick up pace.
Team Twister have a nice one
Five of Friday’s seven races went to British-based runners which came as a bit of a relief to those of us who felt the Irish could really make hay throughout the Showcase meeting (more on that below...), and Nigel Twiston-Davies sending out a couple of winners almost had a warm sense of nostalgia to it, especially as one of them was The Newest One, a close relative to The New One unsurprisingly.
The big local yard is steeped in Cheltenham history and has been going extremely well in recent weeks, to be fair, while it feels even more of a team effort these days too with son and assistant Willy often front and centre on the media side of things.
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The apple doesn’t fall far and he’s going to be good entertainment over the next few years, with his regard for Potters Charm there for all to see in the post-race afterglow. The five-year-old - ridden by brother Sam - had a bit of a look before clipping the top of the last flight, but he travelled powerfully and ultimately swatted these rivals away in the manner of a horse with a big future.
All the usual caveats apply in that this form will probably be a mile away from what unfolds in Ireland in the lead-up to Christmas, and he’s going to be a staying chaser through-and-through if all goes to plan, but the dream is alive for the time being with a race like the Challow Hurdle a perfectly realistic target in the shorter-to-medium term. And British owners and trainers with genuine dreams are much sought-after these days.
McConnell still somewhat under-rated
Which brings us to Saturday and the writing was on the wall when 20/1 chance Lisnamult Lad won the opening novices’ handicap chase for fledgling County Meath trainer Ian Donoghue. Among other things, I was left wondering how many Irish-trained horses will make up the newly-named Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase at the Festival come the spring. I'd be a buyer at half the field on the spreads.
The visitors went home with four victories in total on Saturday and while it would be dead easy to casually consider Intense Approach as a race-fit ‘summer jumper’ who took advantage of a soft edition of the three-mile novices’ hurdle, it’s worth recalling his trainer John McConnell’s past two winners of this race – Streets Of Doyen and Bardenstown Lad – went on to be placed in the Albert Bartlett later in the season.
Both finished third, having had just the one run in between the two Cheltenham meetings in October and March, so we’re unlikely to see Intense Approach too much in the coming months, but he’s well worth keeping in mind as you couldn’t really fault his jumping out in front under Harry Cobden.
McConnell remains one of the more underestimated Irish trainers when it comes to plundering nice races on these shores, and it must have been a relief to get another Cheltenham winner on the board after Anna Bunina's second on Friday, following a surprising blank for the yard at the track from 11 runners throughout the last campaign.
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Nothing lucky about Chief superiority
Every Henry De Bromhead-trained Cheltenham winner is a good news story in my book, even if I’ve backed the wrong one in a straight forecast for the stable, and although there was obviously strong support for eventual 9/4 favourite Broadway Boy who ended up a respectful distance back in third, I’m still struggling to see how De Bromhead's unexposed Senior Chief went off 11/1. What a wonderful thing hindsight can be.
Despite being easy to back on the day, Darragh O’Keeffe’s mount could be called the winner a fair way from home after jumping with aplomb just behind the pace and arriving full of running on the outside of Does He Know and the market leader as they started the turn for home at the foot of the hill on the second occasion.
Stablemate The Short Go ran a promising enough race in second but I never quite felt like he was going to go by Senior Chief, and the winner looked to win with plenty in hand at line.
Seemingly perked up by the addition of first-time cheekpieces, it will be interesting to see how this one is campaigned as he was bumping into horses like Gaelic Warrior and Minella Cocooner before being pitched into the Irish Grand National at the end of his novice chase campaign last season, and he’s obviously kicked off on a workable handicap mark and in very good shape this autumn.
He’s now proven on ground ranging from good to heavy too so options will be plentiful and his owners the Lucky In Life Syndicate appear to be rather well named.
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