"Jumps Season Opener", Chepstow Racecourse - Day 1 Round-up

MCFABULOUS and jockey Harry Cobden took the feature race on Day 1 of Chepstow Racecourse's "Jump Season Opener", the Grade 2 Unibet Persian War Novices' Hurdle, run over 2m 4f, to assist in a 237-1 four-timer for trainer Paul Nicholls.

In truth, the winner was never looking like anything other than that; an imperious performance cemented by a fantastic leap at the last to win the feature for owners Giraffa Racing. A full write-up can be found here - https://tomwilliams275.wixsite.com/jtwequineimages/single-post/mcfabulous-imperious-in-persian-war-stroll

Elsewhere on the card, Day 1 started with a competitive 4YO hurdle at 2:10pm, the Paul Ferguson's "Jumpers to Follow" Handicap Hurdle, run at just over 2 miles, which was won in great fashion by THYME WHITE, beginner of the Paul Nicholls quad, owned by The Stewart Family and ridden by Harry Cobden. This was a fine performance to set the day off, with the eventual winner settling in mid-division to begin with from the off. Olympic Honour backers would have been a bit concerned with their chance's hopes as he wandered around before the 1st hurdle and was then slow at the 2nd. Goa Lil was straight and jumped well, so pressed for the lead with Olympic Honour. After a very standard back straight passage, Vorashann was the first to lose ground, and up front a host of chances were certainly there. Thyme White nodded slightly on landing at the second last but quickened clear to take up the running from Goa Lil approaching the last, and a great jump sealed the win for the Ditcheat operation. The Pink'n defied his odds to be second at 33-1 for trainer Seamus Mullins and jockey Daniel Samson, with long time leader Goa Lil 3rd for the Nigel Twiston-Davies and Daryl Jacob combination.

The second race, the "Dragon TV and Film Studios/EBF Mares' National Hunt Novices' Hurdle at 2:45pm over 2m 3f, saw Dan Skelton and Bridget Andrews get off the board at the meeting, thanks to an impressive finish from their 5-year-old mare WILD ROMANCE. Long time leader and eventual 3rd Born In Borris had duelled with eventual 4th Kilmington Rose throughout, and coming down to the final hurdle, it looked as though Kilmington Rose would prevail, the pair skipping a few lengths clear of the field. However, whilst the taps on Born In Borris began to empty, they were nothing like the abrupt halt in momentum Kilmington Rose performed when slowing right down at the hurdle. This allowed not only Born In Borris to pass, but also for Paris Dixie under Nico de Boinville and Wild Romance under Bridget Andrews to get by. Having jumped the hurdle in fourth position, the mare rallied gamely on the run-in to just prevail from Paris Dixie, and score for connections, including owners Masomo. Mac Kayla, who had put down at the 3rd hurdle but jumped better since, was best of the rest in 5th, 14 lengths behind Kilmington Rose.

After the Grade 2 Persian War Novices' Hurdle at 3:15pm, the next race was at 3:50pm, the first division of the Unibet 3 Uniboosts a Day Novices' Hurdle, run at just over 2 miles. The race was won by FLIC OU VOYOU, shedding his maiden tag for trainer Paul Nicholls, jockey Harry Cobden and owner Colm Donlon. The winner made all to score, however the race was marred by several incidents. At the first hurdle, Gilwen Grayson and Master Templar bumped into each other and both unseated their riders; thankfully Adam Wedge and Fergus Gregory were both OK. At the final hurdle, one of the loose horses caused the Jonjo O'Neill trained, and ridden by his son, Folks On The Hill to be carried out through the wings of the final hurdle; both horse and rider were unscathed from the incident.

Tragically, at the previous hurdle, the Colin Tizzard-trained At Large fell, and suffered a fatal injury. Our thoughts are with the connections of At Large, and what is a very sad time for them.

The second division of the above race, at 4:25pm, was won by SOARING GLORY, who provided the Jonjo O'Neill yard with some redemption for the RO suffered in the previous race. Heading to the first, there was no real pace on, with the eventual runner-up Bravemansgame ballooning the first, however the most serious error came from the awkward landing for the Oliver Greenall-trained Gouet Des Bruyeres, with jockey Robbie Dunne doing well to keep the partnership intact. Bravemansgame then looked quite green under Harry Cobden, jumping left at the 2nd, 3rd and 4th hurdles, to which he ended up being on the steeplechase course at one point. Allenby at this point moved up to contest the lead under Dicky Johnson, with all of the field remaining well in touch due to the slow pace, apart from World Trip, who was given the hurry up under David England on the home turn. Heading into the straight, Gouet Des Bruyeres began to make progress 3 out, however after jumping, this effort soon petered out, and he dropped out of contention. Up front, Allenby had been passed by Bravemansgame, with the Colin Tizzard-trained and Robbie Power-ridden Numbers Man looking threatening. At the second last however, Harry Cobden's mount came up out of his hands, and soon began to draw away from Robbie Power's mount. Soaring Glory and Jonjo Jr however were cruising in behind. The quicker jump at the latest came from Jonjo's mount, and on the run-in Soaring Glory pulled away to win for the Jackdaws Castle team and owner P Hickey.

Remarkably, because of the division in the previous hurdle race, it meant that at 4:55pm, the sixth race became the first chase race of the day. The Professor Caroline Tisdall Supports Heroic Jumpers Veterans' Handicap Chase over 3 miles gave jump racing fans exactly what they had missed out on for so long this year. We could write about the whole race, but that would take away the space needed to describe the finish of the day, as PRESENT MAN and Bryony Frost won by a nose to Crosspark and Sean Bowen, who themselves were a nose ahead of the game Dancing Shadow under James Best. Indeed, it was Dancing Shadow who led narrowly at the last having led for the entire way up to this point, including a substantial lead of 10 lengths turning into the country for the final Circuit. Present Man had been second or thereabouts throughout, with Pingshou heading past him on the back straight. Indeed. Pingshou flew the 5th last, but was still 8 lengths down on the long-time leader, who pressed on in the home straight under James Best. The gap had been diminished at the 4th last, with Present Man passing Pingshou to retake second. Shantou Village had appeared on the scene under Sam Twiston-Davies looking threatening, and Crosspark was also beginning to stage a rally. Equal jumps at the 3rd last kept the distances as they were, but at the second the leader was not as fluent, allowing Pingshou and Present Man to get to within a length. And then, at the last, jumps fans' eyes were fixated on their screens as 5 fluent jumps meant it was all about the run in. On the run in, the game Dancing Shadow was passed by Present Man, with Crosspark, to quote the Chepstow commentator Martin Harris, "threading the eye of the needle", only to just not quite prevail. Shantou Village was 4th, beaten only 2 lengths, with Pingshou a further 7 lengths back in 5th. The win for Present Man gave trainer Paul Nicholls the final leg of his 237-1 four-timer, with the winning owners being Mr & Mrs Mark Woodhouse. In writing this report, I have watched back the race multiple times, and what a pleasure it was in watching it as well!

The second chase race, and seventh overall, was the 5:25 Tom Malone Bloodstock Novices' Chase over a trip just short of 3 miles. A select field of 4 contested the race, with 3 runners having been declared non-runners shortly before the off. The race was won by the Nick Gifford-trained, James Davies-ridden and The Golden Rose Partnership-owned THE MIGHTY DON. A successful staying handicap hurdler of recent years, it was fantastic to see the Shantou gelding finally get his head in front, having had an unlucky time over fences in the past. At the off, The Cashel Man under Jeremiah McGrath led, from Red River and David Bass close up on the outside in second, Enrilo and Harry Cobden in third, and the eventual winner bringing up the rear of the field. Over the first two fences, despite leading, The Cashel Man was quite careful, and The Mighty Don was 6 lengths adrift, but closed up on the bend approaching the entrance to the home straight on the first circuit. The backmarker lost ground at the first fence in the home straight on this circuit, and the positions remained largely the same. Enrilo occassionally looked to take himself and his pilot into a share of second, and on the bend Red River was not as sharp as the others, with the field now separated by only 2 lengths. Red River led at the 8th, and Enrilo hit the 9th pretty hard. At the 11th, The Mighty Don was pushed along on landing, and continued to lose some ground at the 12th and 13th fences, where Enrilo moved stylishly in-between his rivals to lead. 5 out and the eventual winner had got into a handy position just behind Enrilo and The Cashel Man, with Red River relegated to last. The chances of The Cashel Man were already over by the fourth-last, however he did not help his cause by making a very serious blunder. The third from home saw Enrilo and The Mighty Don surge clear of the other pair, and this was now a match approaching the final two fences. More fluent than his rival, Enrilo looked to have the race won after the last, however the stamina of The Mighty Don, from his hurdling days, began to come into effect, and on the run in, and under his jockey's urgings, he stayed on strongly to record a 1/2 length win over the Paul Nicholls-trained runner-up.

The final race of the day, again over the distance just short of 3 miles, was the 5:55pm iStadia Outdoor LED Screens Supports Racing Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Chase. The winner was FROM THE HEART, from the Philip Hobbs stable, ridden by Bryan Carver and owned by Unity Farm Holiday Centre Ltd. Gaining an easy 10 length lead at the start, From The Heart made all, despite the advantage being diminished on the home straight first-time around to just over a length. Throughout the race, Nativegetaway lost places and weakened after the 11th, and at this point the late-afternoon autumn sunshine cast a beautiful glow on the field, approaching the home turn. The winner cleared 5 out well, and was still going best at 4 and 3 out. A quick, spring-heeled leap at 2 out saw From The Heart increase the gap to the field, but that eagerness had diminished when hitting the last, allowing Antony, from the Gary Moore stable, a sniff of victory. This sniff was all that From The Heart would allow, and he gamely held-on under Carver's urgings to score by just over a length.

Tomorrow sees an always competitive Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle, and a mouthwatering Robert Mottram Novices' Chase featuring Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle winner Fiddlerontheroof and top juvenile from 2019 Fusil Raffles. Regrettably, we have learned this evening that we will not be able to cover the meeting tomorrow, so to all those who can attend tomorrow, good luck, and we hope all horses and jockeys come back safe and sound. Until next time,

Jack and Tom.

JTW Equine Images.