Kingofthefrontier breaks new ground for John Dawson at Cheltenham

Northern raider Kingofthefrontier provided John Dawson with the biggest success of his training career in the Oddschecker Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on Friday.

Although a winner on his second and most recent start under rules at Southwell in early June, the five-year-old faced a huge rise in class for a Grade Two contest registered as the Sharp Novices’ Hurdle on the opening day of the season at Prestbury Park, and was priced up accordingly at 20-1.

Conor O’Farrell was happy to bide his time, positioning Kingofthefrontier at the rear of the field for much of the two-mile journey before allowing him to make inroads racing down the hill.

He was still nearer last than first rounding the home turn, but he powered up the straight to the final hurdle to join the leading pack – and while he wandered around after hitting the front on the run-in, he found plenty once grabbing the near side rail to score by two and a quarter lengths from the previously unbeaten Planters Punch, with 13-8 favourite Cooltobecareless a close-up third.

Dawson said: “We’ve always loved him since word go and for his owner George (Critchley), who puts a lot into it up in the north, I just felt we had a horse to certainly come and have a go with.

“He’s totally unexposed, we didn’t know what we were dealing with and that’s a lovely thing. He’d never disappointed us, so to come and have a go and win here is just unbelievable.”

The Cleveland-based trainer, who enjoyed Cheltenham Festival success in the saddle aboard Fiona Needham’s Sine Nomine in the 2024 St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase, is keen to let the dust settle before making plans with his stable star.

“I think he’s still got a lot to learn. The way he went through the race, he was a little bit stumbly, and Conor said he had to balance him a couple of times,” he told Racing TV.

“The speed wasn’t a problem for me – he’d always have enough boot to get there – it’s just whether he was good enough. It was just a case of nursing him round and then have a go and to be fair he picked up real well.

“He’ll learn a lot from that and he could be anything.”