Road To Cheltenham: Allaho confirms his love for going left

There have been one or two seismic things happening in the world of British horseracing since I last wrote this column. Al Boum Photo sidestepping the John Durkan for a racecourse gallop was not one of them. Nonetheless that didn’t stop some seeking Willie Mullins’ head on a stick, just like this column tried to go a little deeper than skewering Nicky Henderson for his Shishkin announcement two weeks ago.

Neither horse has yet made it to the racecourse as advertised. Mullins implied that the dual Gold Cup winner would participate more often this season but, after raising hopes about Thurles last month, he also opted to miss last Sunday at Punchestown due to fears the ground was too fast. Despite issuing positive bulletins about Shishkin’s preparations for Sandown, you will recall Henderson suddenly pulled the plug two weeks ago. (On which more in the two-mile section below.)

As argued previously, the underlying cause of British racing fans’ frustration – exacerbated this season by a prolonged lack of rain in late autumn – is that the graded-race programme no longer appears to fit the horse population, enabling too many one-sided contests and a lack of meaningful competition outside of the spring. This is exacerbated by – and perhaps even inspires – a more protectionist attitude to campaigning, of which Henderson is a primary proponent.

While the Irish horse population is so strong at the top level and its calendar so trim, this is not so much of a problem. Yes, the ground has resulted in fewer excitements so far this season than might otherwise have been the case but Mullins, for example, was prepared to throw seven darts at the John Durkan even in Al Boum Photo’s absence. No seven races for seven horses there. Irish trainers more often have to grasp their opportunities when and where they can.

Mullins and Henderson also differ on the subject of communication with the public, although both have in the past fallen short of ideal. Mullins’ policy is to say nothing unless absolutely necessary – and sometimes not even then.

That’s why his yard has been referred to as the Closutton Order in this column for years. Exchange drifts have been known to undermine this vow of silence, much to the evident irritation of the trainer. At Cheltenham last March, I got the feeling he’d like to GSI to those responsible for them.

Contrastingly, Henderson wants to share every waking thought and it is this stream of consciousness, combined with its naïve presentation in a bookmaker-sponsored column and the inevitable winds of change that buffet best-laid plans, that get him into muddles. Pre-announcement exchange drifts have caused past discomfort at Seven Barrows, too.

Yet this sport needs trainers to engage with the public. What might help them and us is greater precision and more technical detail, then we wouldn’t be arguing about what “fit enough” and “not sparking” might mean to different people applied to different horses for different races.

What was the pre-season training plan? What are the mechanics of different training regimes? It’s absurd this isn’t talked about with any rigour when it is the very essence of a trainer’s skill. If the complaint is that the public doesn’t understand what goes into making these racehorses, then give everyone a chance by providing better information.

A tumultuous weekend in this division saw both Chacun Pour Soi and Nube Negra woefully underperform at Sandown, whilst the former’s stablemate Energumene made a flawless transition into open company and Shishkin remained ante-post favourite for the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase despite doubts emerging about whether he’ll be well enough to reappear at Christmas.

Chacun Pour Soi’s flop is perhaps easiest to forgive because almost every fence he jumped in the Betfair Tingle Creek betrayed that something was badly wrong. Big at the first, he then was awkward or backing off his remaining fences – perhaps best illustrated when he uncharacteristically put down on jockey Patrick Mullins rather than assailing the first of the three quickfire Railway Fences. Joined in the lead by the Pond Fence, he screwed his way over it and was immediately done with.

“It felt like Chacun Pour Soi might be feeling something,” Mullins Jnr. reported afterwards. “He didn’t fire today, but he pulled up perfectly sound so maybe I’m just imagining it. He didn’t jump like he can. I was surprised he wasn’t attacking his fences.”

It palpably wasn’t his imagination. The following day, trainer Willie Mullins confirmed the horse to be “sore behind” but said that a more thorough clinical investigation would only be carried out once the horse had recovered from his exertions.

“I’m sure there’s some little thing going on behind, because that’s not like him,” Mullins added. “I thought down over those fences down the back straight he should be gaining a length or two and he just walked into every one of them. It’s not the Chacun I know, anyway.”

The real Chacun Pour Soi is a good 20lb better than this shadow, who finished an eased-down 34 lengths behind Greaneteen – we know that. The problem is, we also know this horse is rising ten years of age and that last season was the only occasion on which his trainer had a clear run with him – and he still didn’t manage to win the Champion Chase. In his previous five seasons, he’d only made it to the racecourse eight times.

Provided this latest issue is not serious, we can reasonably expect Chacun Pour Soi to deliver a handful of top-drawer performances yet in his career. He’s clearly no back number on just one bad run. He’s also one hell of a talented horse to be hanging around the 10/1 mark for Cheltenham, but he remains unproven at that track, where he would face younger horses who are.

At the start of the season, Dan Skelton wouldn’t have been expecting the ground to have been good enough to run Nube Negra in the Tingle Creek. But the dry autumn and early winter that we’re all too familiar with – combined with having a horse at the top of his game following his smooth Shloer success – caused him to adjust plans accordingly. You can see why – it’s a Grade One and the main danger was making his seasonal debut.

However, even though I’d put him up for the Champion Chase, I was mostly expecting Nube Negra to be beaten by Chacun Pour Soi on Saturday. I hadn’t actually bargained on my selection running there when recommending the bet and was just hoping he wouldn’t be beaten too far. In the end, he finished in front of the odds-on favourite but nonetheless blew out.

It was plain Harry Skelton wasn’t happy on him even as the field closed on the afflicted leader early in the back straight. His jumping was lethargic and he couldn’t even muster the semblance of a challenge at any stage.

Perhaps the race came too soon after Cheltenham? Perhaps Sandown isn’t his bag – he was beaten there by Esprit Du Large as a novice, albeit at the time it would have been a best-yet performance. Whatever, this was lacklustre. He’s been pushed back out to 16/1 for the Champion Chase with a couple of bookmakers.

Yet Nube Negra is a two-years younger horse than Chacun Pour Soi, was on an upward trajectory going into this event and is proven on the Old Course, so – for a division in which, at Cheltenham specifically, there is not yet any guaranteed standout performer – I’d suggest he’s drifted too far out. I would still expect him to be a player come March; he’s just not the strong ante-post position I’d hoped for. It will be interesting to see how the Skeltons regather his campaign now.

Given these two let-downs, Greaneteen surely did not have to improve to win. Yet his first Grade One victory brought to mind trainer Paul Nicholls’ repeated observations last season. First, when this same horse chased home stablemate Politologue – a non-participant here due to the ground not being testing enough – in last year’s Tingle Creek. “He will still keep improving and one day the gap will close,” he said of Greaneteen then.

Then, when the young horse beat Altior in the Celebration Chase, Nicholls said: “I thought he could possibly do something like that next season (rather than this soon). He’s always had huge potential but he’s starting to settle now. That’s the big thing. He’ll become a proper racehorse and the obvious race will be back here for the Tingle Creek.” He loves it when a plan comes together.

On Saturday, winning rider Bryony Frost mentioned how “boisterous” the trainer had been about this horse’s chance. “He was 100% for this,” she said, I think meaning Greaneteen – although it was good to see Nicholls back in rude health.

It’s a reminder, if indeed one were needed, about the skill with which Nicholls picks his targets. Frodon, Clan Des Obeaux, Politologue – these are other recent instances of him routinely picking off Grade Ones with horses who are not the pre-acknowledged best-in-class.

Greaneteen has been steadily getting his feet under the top table for months now. I won’t pretend I’d noticed because I hadn’t. Although you could suggest it was end-of-term form and that Altior was not the force of old, beating him in April was still no gimme. When fourth to Eldorado Allen in the Haldon Gold Cup on seasonal debut last month, this horse was conceding 17lb to the winner.

It was your classic Nicholls juggle, with stablemate Hitman – a scruffy-jumping second here at Sandown, albeit recording a career best of his own – in receipt of the same amount at Exeter and all but having his day with an idling narrow second. Mind you, he is only a five-year-old. There’s time – although he has already twice had an operation to improve his breathing, which tempers enthusiasm.

The immediate question is what Nicholls plans to do with Greaneteen now? Last season, he waited until the Game Spirit for this horse’s next move, but might Ascot’s Clarence House in January hold greater appeal this season? Given Nicholls’ early-year mass-vaccination schedule, it wouldn’t even be impossible that he ran in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton over Christmas.

He certainly merits consideration for the Champion Chase, given he was beaten merely two lengths in fourth by Put The Kettle On in March – even though it was such a steadily run race that relative merits were suppressed. Not quite a case of ‘throw them up in the air and they’ll land in a different order’ – I couldn’t make a winning case for most of those horses, but Greaneteen I could.

His jumping seems to be smartening up as well – just the one error at the third at Sandown and good when absolutely required. Neither the overall time nor the sectional breakdown were compelling, however. Overall, the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase was quicker – not unusually for this pair of course-and-distance races – but, more tellingly, the winner of that preceding race recorded faster sectional splits at all stages compared with Greaneteen. (That will be discussed further in the novices’ section below.)

Mind you, while we’re recalling how the entire nine-strong 2021 Champion Chase field was still in contention turning for home – yes, I’m stretching a point with Rouge Vif – I think we should acknowledge that the winner is currently far too long at 25/1 to retain her title whilst the second, third and fourth are shorter. Even sixth-placed First Flow trades at almost ten points less! There will be more on Sunday’s Peterborough Chase winner in the next section, but 16/1 for the Queen Mum?! Stroll on!

Now that more water has flowed under the bridge, the reaction to Put The Kettle On’s first-ever defeat at Cheltenham’s Old Course looks over the top. She may have been beaten in the Shloer but in form terms she ran a very similar race to her victory the previous year. The main impediment to her defending her crown is the attitude of her connections, with trainer Henry de Bromhead having already mentioned those two abominable words: Mares’ Chase.

Her stable companion Captain Guinness requires a mention here, having finished third in the Tingle Creek. Fit from his Naas Grade Three success, he was held up in last in a steadily run race and got a couple of fences minorly wrong. However, even a good jump at the last couldn’t get him past the younger, error-prone Hitman – albeit that horse was ridden harder to the line. Rachael Blackmore’s mount is also youthful – currently six – and this was his best effort yet, however.

Having played his three of a kind and lost his king, Willie Mullins made no mistake with the other two: both Energumene and Allaho won their respective targets. The latter, who’s hardened as favourite to retain his Ryanair crown after Sunday’s John Durkan success, will be discussed in the next section. In light of both the Tingle Creek upheaval and his Hilly Way triumph, Energumene has halved in price to 5/2 second favourite for the Champion Chase. I still hold my doubts about the suitability of that target, as distinct from the palpable ability of the horse.

Logic dictated that, as a second-season chaser taking his first steps outside novice company, he was granted the easiest task of Mullins’ trio – albeit he wasn’t rated as far clear of his rivals as Chacun Pour Soi was officially deemed to be. By that measure, the de Bromhead-trained Notebook had 7lb to find on Energumene and also held match-fitness in his favour, following his ebullient defeat of Samcro in a Navan Grade Two last month.

Both were positively ridden, in the circumstances excessively so from shortly after the fourth. A good jump at the second had projected Energumene into the outright lead, after which he briefly went clear. Notebook then pressed the leader passing the bypassed fence and approaching the de facto fifth, causing them to duel until entering the straight, when Notebook cracked and Energumene kept going.

The impact of this approach on Notebook was dramatic: he dropped like a stone through the field from the third last to the extent that Daly Tiger, blunder-prone Sizing Pottsie and Cash Back all passed him and he ended up 42 lengths adrift in last. Energumene got tired, too, but kept on to win by more than eight lengths.

Energumene and, in the preceding race, stable-companion Concertista covered the same course and distance in pretty much exactly the same overall time – the Racing Post timings had her one tenth of a second faster in winning the Grade Two mares’ novice and I had Energumene faster by the same margin. Much of a muchness! But they achieved that near-identical time in very different ways. The mare covered the start to four out in a time about seven seconds slower than Energumene, but she completed the fourth-last to the line in about seven seconds quicker.

This is more impressive for Energumene having needed the run. This visual and sectional evidence correlates with Mullins’ warnings that a lack of rain has critically delayed his team preparations – and also with the slow closing sectionals in the John Durkan, in which Allaho initiated a slow-motion Closutton 1-2-3 with Asterion Forlonge, another stablemate, falling at the last when holding a winning chance. (Of which more in the next section.)

So, Energumene presents as a strong stayer at two miles. However, as previously outlined in this space, I have my suspicions about whether the tight, turning Old Course – host of the Champion Chase – will be to his liking. Cork is right-handed but he still ran down the second last to his right when tired. I suspect he may prefer the more galloping New Course but, with the opposition crumbling away and Allaho in the same yard, we may not get to find out this season.

Finally in this division, we must turn our thoughts to Shishkin, whom trainer Nicky Henderson revealed in an interview with ITV’s Matt Chapman is now not certain to run in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton on 27 December. This news emerged nine days after the trainer announced he would not make last Saturday’s Tingle Creek.

“If I’m very honest, I’ve just had a call from home,” Henderson said, when interviewed at Sandown last Friday. “We scoped him this morning and it’s a very good thing he’s not here. He has gone the wrong way – just on his trachea wash. So, thank goodness he’s not here. We were right.”

Asked by Chapman whether that meant “even Kempton is doubtful now”, he added: “We’ll just have to see. Charlie (Morlock, his assistant trainer) has just rung me to say we scoped him this morning and the figures are not good. That confirms something that wasn’t there a week ago… I was unhappy... but there is something there now.”

Henderson was referring to his decision to miss the Tingle Creek because Shishkin was, in his judgment, “not quite there” – albeit a poor scope would, of course, have triggered non-participation at any stage.

“He’s fit enough, but I just don’t feel he’s sparking enough and not quite giving us all the right vibes I’d like to see,” he said at the time. As I observed at the time: “It is part of a trainer’s skillset to judge when to push a horse and when to back off, when to run and when to sit out, with the bigger picture in mind.”

The primary purpose of this column, however, is to discuss the implications of such developments on the remainder of the season. It was therefore notable that this news had little or no impact on Shishkin’s ante-post price for the Champion Chase – almost as if bookmakers had factored this possibility into their calculations.

The best-case scenario is, of course, for Shishkin to make it to Kempton because if he misses that target, Henderson is left with only the Clarence House or Game Spirit as a stepping-stone – surely not both and probably the latter. That would mean this novice lining up at Cheltenham with a maximum of just one start in open company to his name.

As discussed previously, he was a brilliant novice chaser – unbeaten in five outings and with good time performances for ballast – but he did keep beating the same pool of inferiors. He’s never yet been put under pressure in the way a Champion Chase would – or even in the way Energumene was by Notebook last Sunday. And Shishkin is 7/4. As things stand, there are better 7/4 shots many, many times a week.

Titleholder Allaho tightened his grip on the forefront of the Ryanair Chase ante-post market by winning last Sunday’s Grade One John Durkan Chase despite many obstacles in his path. Indeed, the fences were the least of his problems – something you couldn’t level at self-sabotaging Asterion Forlonge.

Right-handed Punchestown was Allaho’s first problem – he’s been adjusting left for the term of his natural life over obstacles – even if that fact seemed to have slipped Willie Mullins’ mind in his wash-up interview with Gary O’Brien on Racing TV, when he was inclined to wonder whether a new set of shoes were “bugging him”.

There wasn’t a single fence at which Allaho didn’t adjust or run down to the left last Sunday. Rider Patrick Mullins must have been delighted that the low sun caused three to be omitted.

Allaho’s second issue was his lack of fitness, having not raced since Punchestown in April – a deficiency he shared with five of his six stable-companion competitors. The sixth, Tornado Flyer, hadn’t seen competition since Cheltenham in March.

Yet two of Allaho’s three rivals from other yards (the key ones at that), Envoi Allen and Fakir D’Oudairies, were both match-fit. The former had won an egg-and-spoon race at Down Royal in late October whereas the latter had swept aside more substantial rivals at Clonmel. The returning Grand National winner Minella Times completed a compelling field of ten.

Yet in the end, none of this mattered. Despite his adjustments, Allaho negotiated the obstacles more cleanly than Fakir D’Oudairies and displayed more natural ability than Envoi Allen. He might well have been beaten had Asterion Forlonge not hit the third-last halfway up and stumbled, launching Bryan Cooper sideways, as the grey appeared to be going better at the time.

However, at a course where he’d previously recorded his best performance to date last April, the trouble-magnet reverted to his propensity for a chance-stopping out-of-the-blue blunder – a trait that held him back in his early novice days. Thankfully, Asterion Forlonge returned with only “a few cuts and bruises” according to his trainer, who plans to step him up in trip.

Meanwhile, the winner finished very tired, somehow getting over the penultimate obstacle prior to bravely coming up willingly at the last. Slow closing splits for the race underlined the point. Afterwards, Mullins repeatedly referred to the potential impact of this hard race on Allaho – noting he was “quite tired when he came back in the winner’s enclosure” and that it had been “a tough race for his first assignment”.

Whereas Allaho ran in the Savills Chase after getting beaten in this race last year, from the noises his trainer was making you would think it likely he’ll wait for January’s Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase – the Grade Two in which he beat Elimay last season.

“It’s not ideal – usually we wouldn’t run these horses at Christmas, but they’ve all backed up with the weather being so dry,” said Mullins. “Just reading the weather reports, it’s been the driest November on the east coast (of Ireland) since 1942. So that’s why.

“I was wondering: was I being too precious not running these horses? But when you see that – it is that dry and the ground feels that dry. So, we are where we are and that’s probably going to impact on Christmas a little.”

The Mullins-trained Janidil picked up the pieces for second place, coming out of the pack to chase Allaho on the home turn having hitherto been patiently ridden by Jody McGarvey. Allaho’s two-out mistake, when momentarily at odds with Patrick Mullins, gave Janidil brief hope of something more but he looked almost as tired from the last, albeit keeping on stoutly. This was a career best from the runner-up.

Melon had been chivvied around on the inner by Brian Hayes to run respectably without ever threatening, whilst Tornado Flyer showed the benefits of losing touch at the bypassed section by slowing down less markedly than more pre-engaged rivals at the finish, and grabbing fifth. A mistake at the fourth last put paid to Franco De Port prior to which Kemboy, who finished tailed off, had already weakened. Minella Times, the first to become detached, took a heavy fall at the third last but was unscathed.

That leaves Envoi Allen, who – as Tony Keenan succinctly put it in Sky Sports Racing’s 'Off The Fence' show – “just looked like a horse”. He’s not the second coming; he’s a second-division chaser on this evidence. There were no apparent excuses – he was fit and didn’t make any errors, albeit he looked slow and careful at times.

Devoted Allenites will wonder whether he lost his zip when he was removed from Gordon Elliott’s yard, but it could just be that he’s over-rated and hasn’t kept pace with the improvement of his peers. Chris Richardson, racing manager to owners Cheveley Park Stud, has mentioned dropping him down in trip to two miles. He showed a blend of speed and stamina when winning the Ballymore two seasons ago, so it may be worth a shot. They need to do something different.

A change of trip brought inspired a revived performance from the “oddball” First Flow last Sunday. Trainer Kim Bailey revealed afterwards that he’d been arguing all week with jockey David Bass about whether the horse would get the 2m4f trip.

“I hate it when the trainer is right,” said Bass. “I rode him over two miles three twice a couple of years ago and I was convinced he wouldn’t get the trip – and when I pulled up on those occasions, I said ‘He is a two-miler’.

“(But) he is a far better horse now and he is stronger, bigger and better. He is a wonderful horse. He is such a character. It doesn’t bother him going through those fences. He is just a very good horse.”

The particular fences that First Flow ‘just went through’ on this occasion were those in front of the stands at the start of his final circuit. Up front, Allmankind and Funambule Sivola were grappling for the lead, having seen off the attentions of Master Tommytucker before the ninth. Long before the home turn, Allmankind was beaten but Bass held to Funambule Sivola’s slipstream and brought his mount to challenge at the second last. Both were low at the last, but First Flow had his measure.

“Watching First Flow has never been a spectacle and I hate every moment as he crashes through every fence,” Bailey exaggerated fondly. “He has got no respect for anything. He is a complete freak of nature and is an oddball in every sense.”

Although this success over further widens horizons for First Flow, Bailey plans to drop him back to 2m1f for the Clarence House in January – the race he won last year by seven lengths. Right-handed tracks and deepish ground suit him best, but he performed respectably in the Champion Chase despite making mistakes and jumping right – albeit no horse was beaten far in that steadily run affair. Nonetheless, he is a smart oddball when granted his conditions.

You can safely mark up the six-year-old Funambule Sivola, who saw off two other rivals intent on the lead and so was softened up for the winner’s pounce. Trainer Venetia Williams improved him steadily through handicap company last season, culminating in a none-too-distant second to Shishkin in Aintree’s Grade One Maghull Novices’ Chase (albeit the winner was probably over the top for the season). You could see a valuable two-mile handicap chase suiting him nicely.

Eldorado Allen, fit from his last-gasp Haldon Gold Cup success, made a critical mistake five from home but ran creditably in third on his first attempt at a longer trip. Master Tommytucker was unable to dominate and beaten favourite Allmankind made a catalogue of errors whilst taken on for the lead and faded to finish fifth and last.

Protektorat ploughed through the mud to trounce a field of fading stars and never-beens at graded level in Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase under rider Bridget Andrews last Saturday. Conditions were attritional – more testing than the official ‘soft’ going report – and the winner dealt with them best, triumphing over 11-year-old Native River by 25 lengths.

This earned a mark of 164 from the BHA’s handicapper and, although he could have gone higher, the flimsiness of the form surely merited caution. Some of the pre-race market moves spoke of a widespread lack of confidence in much of the line-up.

Whilst Protektorat remains an exciting young chaser, unexposed at staying trips, the race fell apart around his ears. Native River had been taken on and headed by Wishing And Hoping for the first circuit but, re-joining him in the lead, his rival blundered and gradually dropped away. Meanwhile, Protektorat had gradually worked his way onto the veteran’s tail and was upsides, going better, exiting the back straight. Native River clipping the top of the cross fence sealed it.

Only three fences then lay between Andrews and one of the biggest successes of her career – and the partnership negotiated them safely for this wide-margin success. Protektorat’s jumping had warmed up during the contest. The scruffiness of his early leaps, combined with memories of that significant error in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, ignite some concerns about his intended Gold Cup mission in March.

But there is no doubt this six-year-old – whom trainer Dan Skelton believes must go left-handed – is going the right way and he holds an entry in Leopardstown’s Savills Chase this Christmas, albeit that might be too swift a return after these exertions.

“Protektorat has got an unbelievable amount of talent,” Andrews said afterwards. “We’ve always known it, but he has been keen in the past and we were just trying to use it right. That was my only concern today. He’s a big, strong horse and I’m not very big. We went a sensible gallop but he’s got a high cruising-speed and all he does is keep going. He was doing a half-speed and I couldn’t go any slower and, in the end, I just let him go to the front.”

In the backwash, Native River ran his trademark doughty race but there is little doubt he’s on the downgrade. It was odd to see fellow veteran Tiger Roll brought back to a track he so clearly hated in April – again, here, his jumping was too low for the Mildmay course and, driven from an early stage, he couldn’t keep up.

Imperial Aura was never going and was pulled up after making a mistake at the ninth. That’s now four races on the bounce that he’s failed to complete. Simply The Betts was played for stealth, trying further than two-and-a-half miles for the first time, but his jumping started to unravel and Gavin Sheehan pulled him up when, weakening, he walked through the third last.

Concertista’s time performance has already been contrasted with that of Energumene above, but it’s worth going into greater detail on her Cork success last Sunday. Pitched into Grade Two company for her chase debut, the 2020 Dawn Run winner – also twice narrow runner-up at the Festival – overcame a lack of fluency and a habit of jumping left to beat more experienced rivals.

Last season’s Dawn Run second Magic Daze – already a course-and-distance chase winner - had set off in front and raced clear of the other principals, the ultimately well-beaten 40/1 shot Kitty Galore keeping closest tabs.

Concertista was adjusting left in third, closing on the leaders approaching the de facto fifth, with Jeremys Flame – ultimately a narrow runner-up – further behind in midfield, with Sayce Gold and hard-to-train Dolcita, the winner’s stablemate, not far behind.

Magic Daze started to jump increasingly right, landing off the track at the seventh, but still held a distinct advantage at the fourth last, where Dolcita made a chance-ending blunder. Kitty Galore backed out quickly on the home bend and Sayce Gold tired from three out.

Still both chasing the leader, Concertista landed less statically than Jeremys Flame two out, but they challenged Magic Daze on either side heading for the last. Jeremys Flame – for whom this was an eighth start without success over fences – was under the greatest pressure as they took off and lost further ground on landing, but she rallied for second as Concertista mastered Magic Daze and the latter faded near the line.

Concertista is entered in Limerick’s Faugheen Novice Chase over Christmas – one of the stepping-stones her now-retired former stablemate and then-novice Colreevy used, via Thurles in January, en route to winning the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase against more seasoned rivals last season – breaking the Closutton vow of racing novices against novices. Whatever the medium-term plan, this mare looks likely to appreciate reverting to a left-handed track, however.

Meanwhile, it all looked a bit too much for the diminutive Elimay – last season’s Mrs Paddy Power runner-up at Cheltenham – when despatched to Aintree for the Listed Houghton Mares’ Chase last Saturday. Very strong winds buffeted around the field of four on deep going and, from quite an early stage, jumping out of the ground and over the Mildmay fences reeked of effort from the odds-on favourite. She was beaten in the back straight.

Instead, Zambella set out to make the running with some relish and was never headed. After initially jumping out to her right, she got straighter and more positive, gaining ground at her obstacles in difficult conditions and thereby putting her rivals under pressure. Try as she might, Annie Mc – making a respectable seasonal return – was unable to get on terms.

Zambella had fallen at the third last in the 2021 Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham, having been ridden more patiently than usual in a race in which plenty wanted to lead. She’d characteristically jumped or adjusted right on occasions, but was creeping into things when a low jump four out presaged her hitting the top and crumpling to the floor at the next. Here, she’d had a pipe-opener over hurdles at Wetherby and put that fitness to good use.

As described above, Edwardstone dominated the eye and the clock when winning the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase by 16 lengths at Sandown last Saturday – providing jockey Tom Cannon with his first ever Grade One success. Carrying 5ls less, he covered the just-shy-of-two-miles trip in a time about 3.5 seconds quicker than Greaneteen managed in the succeeding Tingle Creek and comparatively outpaced that horse at every sectional stage.

Tracking the fast pace set by favourite Third Time Lucki, Edwardstone jumped soundly enough. He went a little right and nodded at the first, got in close and knuckled a shade on landing at the first Railway Fence, scrambled over the second and brushed through the top of the penultimate obstacle – where he joined the leader and scooted clear. At the pace he was going, giving bold chase to the leader in the back straight, it was an assured novice performance.

Third Time Lucki set off too fast for his own good – not absurdly so, otherwise the chasing Edwardstone wouldn’t have finished off his race in the manner that he did, but enough to make his jumping become increasingly ragged as he tried to keep the revs up. The reaction to this defeat has been too extreme – he remains a high-class prospect in the right circumstances.

He was second best on merit but was mugged on the line for that spot by the far more patiently ridden War Lord. The four-year-old Il Ridoto, catapulted into Grade One company after beating elders in a Newbury handicap the previous weekend, found the temperature too hot from the sixth.

This is Edwardstone’s take-two season over fences. He made his debut at Doncaster last December but only got as far as the fourth, where he crashed through the fence and unseated his rider. Trainer Alan King immediately switched back to hurdles the following month.

This season, his campaign resumed badly when he was brought down four out at Warwick on his seasonal debut, but he’d since dotted up there – a tricky jumping track, like Sandown – last month.

King mentioned in his Racing Post stable tour that “he’s got a lot of stamina in his pedigree and, now he’s switching off, he’ll stay better”. That youthful buzziness was on show at the 2020 Festival, when Edwardstone became very keen during the false start to the Supreme prior to being anchored out the back, making a mistake at the third and finishing a never-competitive sixth behind Shishkin.

Now, King says: “He’s bred for a trip but doesn’t need any further yet. He’s had three fairly quick runs, so it’s a nice problem to have now. I hope and think he’s an Arkle horse, so we’ll work backwards from there. The Kingmaker [at Warwick in February] would be the ideal one but he’ll probably want a race in between.”

It will be interesting whether Edwardstone actually ends up in the Arkle or whether the developing season suggests the very-newly-retitled Turners' Novice Chase (the Golden Miller), on the more galloping New Course, would be a better target. He’s more than three times the price for the latter. Only three eight-year-olds, the age he will be next March, have won the Arkle since the 1980s – Sizing Europe in 2010, Moscow Flyer in 2002 and Commandante in 1990. Only one has won the two-and-a-half-mile race: Samcro in 2020.

Over in Ireland the same day, young Riviere D’Etel continued her serene progress through the ranks with a 12-length victory in the Grade Three Klairon Davis Novice Chase at Navan. The four-year-old filly took control from the outset, going clear from the second fence and coming home unchallenged for another impressive victory.

Her previous two chase successes were registered on right-handed tracks and she did consistently adjust right here – something she’d also done over hurdles at Navan last season. However, she jumped mostly straight when finishing seventh in last season’s Fred Winter over Cheltenham’s Old Course – an effort that was better than the bare form might suggest from a raw, keen filly. Remember if you do like her for the Arkle, she will only have her mares' allowance – there will be no weight-for-age in Britain in March.

In behind, second-placed Take All, who halved in price in a lively betting heat, tried to get on terms but could not. Dreal Deal, who doubled in price, weakened markedly from two out on his chase debut. The greatly experienced Embittered ran uncharacteristically poorly, making a series of errors and losing touch a long way out.

The following day at Punchestown, another Arkle contender emerged – one that was highly touted for the event prior even to jumping a fence in public. That horse was Ferny Hollow, who made a bright start to last season as a novice hurdler by winning at Gowran – form that only grew in stature as the narrow runner-up, who gave him such a fright, was called Bob Olinger.

However, afterwards news eventually dribbled out that he’d suffered a suspected stress fracture and he missed the rest of the season. Now, he’s back and with a highly encouraging start to his chasing career – jumping novicey at first (including when running down the fourth, which is sited approaching a bend, to his left) but palpably learning as the race developed.

Again, he encountered a substantial rival in Coeur Sublime – a 155-rated hurdler at his peak – who was also making his chase debut. The pair of them really got motoring approaching two out, jumping that fence together but with Ferny Hollow getting on top – despite having been bumped and then hanging slightly right – approaching the last, which he jumped well under some pressure.

“For a horse having only the sixth race of his career, I was very impressed with Ferny Hollow,” trainer Willie Mullins said afterwards. “He got a bit of a bump between the last two. To get into a schmozzle like that and still come out of it fighting, I thought he was very good.He was very lazy over the first few fences, very careful, but Patrick [Mullins, his rider] said that once he had to get down and race over the last four, he was much better. He was like a professional.

“We’ll look for a nice novice chase now. We’ll see how he comes out of this race before we make a plan, but the Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown would certainly be on his agenda if it doesn’t come too soon.”

There are two other novice chases worth a mention before signing off. The first was last Saturday’s 18-runner beginners’ chaser at Navan won – possibly by default – by Farouk D’Alene. It had appeared that Keskonrisk might just have got his measure after the second last – the two of them having been at the vanguard from the outset – but that horse sadly sustained fatal injuries at that point of the race.

That left Farouk D’Alene to hold on from Keskonrisk’s fast-finishing stable companion Blue Sari, who came from further back than the other principals and had looked to be hanging left. Back in third was Ashdale Bob, who’d unseated his rider three out when probably booked for third behind Bob Olinger at Gowran on his previous start.

Farouk D’Alene – leg five of trainer Gordon Elliott’s history-making seven-timer at Navan that day – hadn’t been sighted on a racecourse since the previous December when winning a Limerick Grade Two staying-novice-hurdle event on his third start in a progressive campaign. He narrowly beat the subsequent Albert Bartlett winner, Vanillier, on that occasion.

Elliott commented: “He was off the track for a long time, so he will come on a lot from it. He was gutsy and chasing is his game. He jumped well the whole way around, from what I could see. He wouldn’t be a horse for Leopardstown as it would be too quick. We’ll try and find a graded race somewhere for him. He’s in the race at Limerick [Faugheen Novice Chase] and if it was bottomless heavy ground, he might go there.”

Blue Sari, who’d come out of the pack to chase the winner Heaven Help Us in last term’s Coral Cup only to fall at the second last, was making his chase debut and made some early mistakes prior to looking an awkward ride latterly. Prior to this, he’d actually failed to complete on his previous four starts.

There’s still room for improvement in Ashdale Bob’s jumping. Hopefully, Keskonrisk – trained last season by Joseph O’Brien and sixth to Bob Olinger in the Ballymore in March – wasn’t too seriously injured as this was a highly promising effort on his first start for the yard.

The following day at Huntingdon, Oscar Elite – who had looked unlucky when falling, albeit three from home, in a competitive event at Cheltenham last month – was beaten at odds-on for his recovery mission at Huntingdon. Instead, chase debutant and three-times hurdle winner Brinkley took the spoils with a brave staying performance.

The pair disputed the lead for much of the contest with Honest Vic – a smart ex-hurdler but not yet a natural over larger obstacles – letting them get on with it. Brinkley mostly jumped better than Oscar Elite, but the latter appeared to have warmed to his task with matching good leaps at the fifth and fourth-last fences and then besting his rival to take the lead at three out.

At that point, you expected Oscar Elite to settle matters but no sooner had Brendan Powell taken him into the lead than he began to paddle and Brinkley, galvanised by Tom Scudamore, rallied to head him again entering the home turn. However, they had got racing too far out and both should have been vulnerable to Honest Vic in the straight. Although he took the tired Oscar Elite’s measure, he could not get past the determined Brinkley.

“He is a dour stayer, but he jumped and battled well,” observed winning trainer David Pipe. “The National Hunt Chase could be a target, as he gives the impression he gallops all day. That was a competitive race today. The race at Wetherby that [stablemate] Remastered won over Christmas last year and the Reynoldstown at Ascot would be right up his street.”

Advised 26/04/21: Energumene at 14/1 (general) for the Ryanair Chase

Advised 10/11/21: Nube Negra each-way at 25/1 with Bet365 [20/1 also acceptable] for the Champion Chase

Good things come to those who wait (buys 2022 calendar)