Geromino provided 10lb conditional jockey Charlie Maggs with a notable success in the £50,000 bet365 Handicap Hurdle at Doncaster.
Attached to Donald McCain’s yard in Cheshire, just like twin brother William, he was riding only the fourth winner of his career.
Geromino has been chasing of late and on his run behind subsequent Cheltenham winner Homme Public at Wetherby in October, he looked quite well handicapped off just 126 back over hurdles – especially when Maggs’ 10lb allowance was factored in.
However, there were some smart rivals amongst the opposition, chiefly top weight Tommy’s Oscar and Charlie Longsdon’s Rare Edition, who ran against the best novices last season.
Maggs judged things perfectly on the front end, though, and despite McCain fearing the loss of the hurdles in the straight due to low sun would work against the good jumper, it appeared to work in his favour.
First Impression, who cruised into contention, did not find as much as initially seemed likely and was beaten half a length, with a neck back to Rare Edition, who made late gains.
“Gary (Fitzpatrick, owner) is a great supporter and the old horse is just high enough in the handicap, and he’s a little horse for fences,” said McCain.
“I thought I’d give him a run over hurdles but when I went down to the last to watch the race with Gary and they started taking the hurdles out, I was moaning because he’s such a good jumper.
“But when you think about having a 10lb claim in a Flat race, it’s a lot and the horse is so genuine.
“Charlie judged it great. I’m very lucky, as I’ve got a great team of jockeys, led by Brian (Hughes), there’s Theo (Gilliard), Peter Kavanagh, William and Charlie and Abi (McCain), they’re a great bunch.
“Charlie and his brother have been coming every weekend since they were 12 and they’ve just turned 18. Charlie doesn’t have an agent yet because he’s not lost his 10lb. Will has had a few more winners because he’s lost his 10lb and Richard Hale looks after him. We’ll save his 10lb for nice races.”
Maggs said: “I’m delighted, he battled all the way to the line.
“He was happy in front, so I just let him bowl along and he was good. He’s a hardy horse and he kept going.
“That’s my fourth winner and it’s good to win a race like that.”
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) is pleased to announce that ten local officials have been accepted on the FIFA international Panel for the 2024 calendar.
This was disclosed by Michael Ragoonath, Head of the TTFA Referees Department. The following individuals will receive their FIFA badges for the coming year.
Referees – Kwinsi Williams, Crystal Sobers, Cecile Hinds, Timothy Derry and Nikolai Nyron
Assistant Referees – Caleb Wales, Ainsley Rochard, Evelyn Carissa Douglas Jacob, Kirt Charles and Melissa Nicholas
TTFA General Secretary Amiel Mohammed applauded the progress made in the area of refereeing under the supervision and guidance of the Referees Department led by Ragoonath, a former FIFA official himself.
In 2021, T&T only had 2 female referees in Sobers and Hinds and 3 Assistant Referees (Wales, Rochard and Jacob at the FIFA level). In 2022, the TTFA nominated Williams and Charles, with only Williams being accepted and we started 2023 with 6 FIFA Officials.
The Refereeing Department of the TTFA has consistently worked on the development of the officials over the last few years, inclusive of implementing the training and advice from FIFA instructors at the TTFA’s annual MA Refereeing Course.
As we continued to witness the development of the officials, in 2023, the TTFA nominated Nikolai Nyron and Timothy Derry – Referees and Kirt Charles and Melissa Nicholas – Assistant Referees to be included alongside the six aforementioned officials to the FIFA panel.
All candidates were assessed in the TTPFL and also attended Concacaf/CFU U14/15 tournaments during 2023 to be assessed by Concacaf Assessors. In particular, a full T&T quartet of Williams, Wales, Rochard and Derry have been assigned to officiate together at Concacaf matches over the last few months.
All ten (10) nominees have now been accepted to join the list of FIFA Officials for 2024.
Additionally, Andrew Samuel and Nathalya Williams were selected to join the Concacaf Academy for the next cycle beginning in January 2024. We also have Allison B. Mc Donald being selected as a Refereeing Assessor at the Concacaf level.
The immediate goal of the TTFA Refereeing Department is to have multiple officials appointed to serve at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Fugitif came from the clouds to secure a last-gasp victory in a thrilling renewal of the Virgin Bet December Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
A field of 12 runners went to post for the prestigious handicap, although for much of the way it looked a two-horse race, with Il Ridoto and Bryony Frost and the Charlie Deutsch-ridden Frero Banbou going hammer and tongs on the front end and pulling clear of the chasing pack.
It was obvious from the fourth-last fence that several of those in behind were struggling to keep up with the furious gallop being set, with 3-1 favourite Thunder Rock one of the first to cry enough before eventually being pulled up.
Il Ridoto and Frero Banbou were still locking horns in front rounding the home turn, at which stage Richard Hobson’s Fugitif still had six horses in front of him and seemingly a mountain to climb in the hands of Gavin Sheehan.
After eventually seeing off his long-time challenger, Il Ridoto looked the most likely winner between the final two obstacles.
However, Sheehan – who two weeks ago produced a similarly ice cool masterclass to land Newbury’s Coral Gold Cup aboard Datsalrightgino – conjured a late surge from Fugitif and the pair got up in the very last stride to score by a short head at 13-2.
Trainer Jack Jones can justifiably dream of Cheltenham Festival glory after his star juvenile An Bradan Feasa ran out a decisive winner of the JCB Triumph Trial at Prestbury Park.
Successful on his hurdling debut at Ballinrobe in September for Joseph O’Brien, the three-year-old subsequently moved across the Irish Sea to join Newmarket-based Jones in the autumn.
An Bradan Feasa made a promising debut for his new connections when second to leading Triumph Hurdle contender Burdett Road at Cheltenham last month, and he was a 5-4 shot to go one better four weeks on in the hands of Tom Bellamy.
Dan Skelton’s Kourosh, a runaway winner on his British bow at Wetherby, set out to make all the running in the two-mile-one-furlong contest, and had built up a clear lead halfway down the back straight.
However, the market leader bridged the gap before the home turn and appeared to be getting the better of the argument when Kourosh crashed out at the final flight.
His exit left An Bradan Feasa in the clear racing up the hill and he kept galloping to score by three lengths from the staying-on Balboa.
“It is unreal,” said Jones. “I’ve been coming here for as long as I can remember. To have a runner here a month ago was the stuff of dreams, and for him to do it like that today, I’m speechless.
“Tom gave him a peach of a ride, he jumped and travelled and he was very push button when Tom wanted to give him an inch. I’m very happy.
“It was his first run for us here in November. It was a serious run considering he had to do most of the donkey work and that horse (Burdett Road) looks a fair animal.
“I’m not sure of the depth of the form today, but he has got his win and for the owners to have a winner here is what they have dreamt of – that is why they got him.”
Betfair cut the winner’s Triumph Hurdle odds to 33-1 from 40-1, but he appears more likely to switch to handicap company at the Festival.
“The Fred Winter (Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle) is what we discussed two or three weeks ago,” Jones added. “He could be 50-1 in a Triumph Hurdle but, although he will go up again today, he would have a competitive enough weight in the Fred Winter.
“He will have a quiet enough time now and will have one more run before March and see where we end up.”
The Savills Chase at Leopardstown remains under consideration for Paddy Power Gold Cup hero Stage Star.
The Paul Nicholls-trained seven-year-old won four of his six starts during his debut season over fences last term, including Cheltenham Festival success in the Turners Novices’ Chase.
He made a winning return with a tremendous front-running display in one of the sport’s most prestigious handicap chases at Cheltenham last month and connections already have one eye on a Festival return in March, with the Ryanair Chase his most likely objective.
What route Stage Star takes back to Prestbury Park remains undecided, however, with Leopardstown’s Savills Chase on December 28 and the Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield in January mooted as options.
On a trip to Ireland over the Christmas period, Owners Group racing manager Dan Downie said: “It is possible, I’ll have a chat with Paul next week and we’ll make a decision about whether we go to Ireland or not.
“It doesn’t matter where he goes now, it’s going to be tough.
“I think ideally we’d like to give him a run before Cheltenham, but we’ll have a chat next week, so I’ll probably know a bit more in a week’s time.”
A big field of 60 of Jamaica's top gunners will do battle at Jamaica Rifle Association's (JRA) Christmas Hamper Shoot at Woodleigh Shooting Range in Clarendon on Saturday.
The competitors will use the time on the range to prepare for the International Practical Confederation World shoot in South Africa, which is scheduled for 2025, where only the world's best shooters will get the chance to compete for prizes and top honours, as well as ranking points, to move up the scale to reach the zenith of master shooter. The World Shoot is a Level V championship and Jamaica will have eight spots at that event. It is the highest level in practical pistol competitions worldwide.
Some of the shooters who will be on the rage include Ryan Branwell, Shayon Francis, Adrian Randle and Andy Yap in the Open Division; Yeonie Campbell in Carry Optics, as well as Michael Bradshaw, Anthony Johnson and Matthew Smith-Barrett in Production Division.
All those shooters have enjoyed good form throughout the year, both locally and overseas, where they bettered competitors from other countries.
Bramwell topped his division locally in the JRA's President's Cup IPSC Level III in late October, ahead of Chris Hart and Randle. Bramwell also did well in the US National Championship in November, when he won the Production Optics Senior Division to collect the championship plaque.
Female shooter Campbell, earlier this year copped the Production Division and Ladies Category in the Spectrum Handgun Championship on her home range at Mountain View Avenue. She bettered Johnson in a nail-biter with just one point separating them, while Rohan Wallace was third.
When she competed in the US Nationals, Campbell placed 32nd from a field of 149 shooters in the Production Division and was the first female in the division.
President Rohan Wilson took over the reins of the JRA mid-year after Major John Nelson demitted office ahead of the scheduled elections.
Wilson is upbeat about Saturday's shoot, as well as the high number of competitors who registered. Though not wanting to predict any specific winners, he said that the competition will be "fierce among the competitors in the various divisions."
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) presidential hopeful Raymond Anderson reaffirmed a commitment to lead with integrity, transparency and efficiency, as he believes his Real Solid Action (RSA) team boast the capacity to fulfill the objectives they have pledged to pursue, if elected on January 14.
In fact, Anderson, during the launch of his 27-page manifesto on Thursday, outlined a wide-range of plans to not only improve, but also to move the country’s football product forward.
To achieve this, he pointed out that his team will rely on eight key points –rebranding football, establishing a youth development programme, restoring financial stability, developing women’s football, regaining stakeholder trust, investing in fields and infrastructure, establishing local senior elite squads and facilitating qualifications –as their guiding light.
Anderson, a current vice-president said the decision to challenge incumbent Michael Ricketts, who has been at the helm since 2017, stems from the fact that he hasn’t been able to effect real change from the back seat, where decision-making is concerned.
"My association with the Jamaica Football Federation spans well in excess of three decades. This period includes the last six years with the current administration. The question therefore arises as to why am I challenging for the leadership of the Jamaica Football Federation at this time?
“My answer is simple: my association with the JFF has provided me with a comprehensive view of the challenges with which the JFF has been grappling. However, I have not been able to act on what I know is needed. I need to be in a position to make the decisions to make the difference required,” Anderson said during the launch at the Courtleigh Hotel.
Anderson revealed that chief among the challenges the JFF has faced over the last six years, is the fact that they have been operating under a restricted funding mandate from world governing body FIFA.
“Please recognise that this restriction is due primarily to poor reporting and accountability over the period. This has imposed enormous constraints on the JFF to pursue meaningful developmental objectives. In fact, the federation has been unable to meet some of its basic obligations which has resulted in unseemly public disputes with some of our key stakeholders, most notably, the players,” Anderson stated.
On that note, the former St Mary FA president argued that a lack of trust has been a feature of the current administration and, as such appealed to the 56 delegates across the three pillars to assist his RSA team to regain stakeholder trust, and more importantly, engage corporate Jamaica’s return to football.
“This current administration enjoys very little trust among its various stakeholders. Trust is essential to the efficient running of any venture. The JFF is no exception to this rule. Trust lost is often hard to restore. Rebuilding trust is almost akin to putting Humpty Dumpty back together after the fall. We therefore have no alternative but to replace this regime,” Anderson declared.
He continued: “We neither have the time nor the resources to do otherwise. This administration needs to go, not because it is comprised of evildoers, but simply because Jamaican football cannot continue in its current state. Trust impinges on everything we do. Corporate sponsors will not support our programmes if they don’t trust us. That is why the administration has failed to garner any substantial support from corporate Jamaica.
“The public will not stand behind our teams unconditionally in the absence of trust, and our players will not be able to perform to their very best levels when they have no confidence in the administration. Under the current administration, we have qualified twice for the Women’s World Cup, but we have done so by overcoming unnecessary obstacles which were brought about by inefficiency, incompetence and lack of trust in the administration. This continues even up to today, four months after the last World Cup.”
Anderson’s RSA slate includes Keith Wellington, Jacqueline Cummings-Martin, Donald Beckford and Orville Powell, as vice-presidents, while Carole Beckford and Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron would serve as ordinary directors.
Meanwhile, Ricketts’s slate has Gregory Daley, Elaine Walker-Brown, Raymond Grant and Baron Watson as vice-presidents, with Rudolph Speid and Bruce Gaynor as ordinary directors.
“There is much to be done, but we are up to the task. There will have to be a considerable amount of cleaning and rebuilding, but we promise to retain those policies which have worked for football, and which we believe will be in the best interest for us to sustain. I extend an arm of friendship to you all, mindful of the possibilities which exist for the beautiful game and Jamaica land we love. I urge voters to join my team in the journey to achieving that dream,” Anderson ended.
Ginny’s Destiny further strengthened Paul Nicholls’ already formidable hand in the novice chase division with an all-the-way victory at Cheltenham on Friday.
The champion trainer has unearthed a particularly deep crop of young chasers to go to war with this winter, including a trio of Grade Two winners in Stay Away Fay, Knappers Hill and Hermes Allen.
This seven-year-old’s rise through the ranks has been a little more unheralded – but having impressed in handicap company at the track’s November meeting, he took the next step up the ladder with another excellent front-running display in the Cheltenham & South-West Racing Club Novices’ Chase.
The challengers queued up to have a pop at the 5-2 shot racing down the hill, but one by one he saw them off under a typically well-judged ride from Harry Cobden and he had enough up his sleeve once pressed by 2-1 favourite Grey Dawning to win the day by three-quarters of a length.
“He puts them to the sword and he keeps galloping. He had improved a lot at home and worked brilliantly the other morning,” said Nicholls.
“Claudia (Reid), who rides him and Pic D’Orhy at home, said to me he is not far behind Pic D’Orhy the way he is improving, so she might be right.
“I might look at the £75,000 race at Warwick on January 13 (Hampton Novices’ Chase), as I think three miles around Warwick would be perfect for him.
“He is a good horse. Ground-wise, the softer it is, the better for him.”
Go Dante (7-2 favourite) provided his owner Barbara Hester with a birthday winner and a first success at Cheltenham in the Catesby Estates Handicap Hurdle.
Sixth in the more competitive Greatwood Hurdle last month, Olly Murphy’s inmate hit the front two flights from home and stuck to his guns to see off Doddiethegreat by a length and a quarter in the hands of Sean Bowen.
Murphy said: “This has been a long time coming. I’m not surprised. He is one of those horses that every time he runs, I go racing thinking that he will win.
“He has obviously won his races, but just not at a level I would have liked him to. He has had a lot of issues – he has broken his pelvis, and he had a schooling incident last season.
“Something like a Betfair Hurdle is what we could look at. He has loads of ability and that was great.”
La Malmason (11-4 favourite) gave leading Irish trainer Gavin Cromwell his sixth Cheltenham winner of the season in the Cheltenham Racecourse Food Bank Collection Mares’ Handicap Chase.
Cromwell said: “She is a lovely mare and she jumped well enough. I think she is progressive. She didn’t pick up as good as I thought she would but listen, she has won.
“She unseated Keith (Donoghue) one day. When she is good, she is very good, but she has been making novicey mistakes. The last day at Down Royal, the last three fences were taken out and the winner (Found A Fifty) was very good, as he went on to be second in a Grade One.
“It is nice to see her find her feet and hopefully she can go on from here.”
The Venetia Williams-trained Cepage rolled back the years to lift the Unibet Middle Distance Chase Series Veterans’ Handicap Chase.
“He is still rattling around here at a rate of knots,” said the trainer. “All credit to the owners for giving him the time come back from various injuries. It has taken me this long to put the cheekpieces on him, but I was keen to reserve them for a decent race.
“He is a quirky horse. Jess, who is leading him up, and is my assistant, rides him all the time. Even at the age he is now, which is 11 going on 12, he has to be legged up in the barn, otherwise he might bolt. He is still daft as a brush!”
There were emotional scenes after the success of White Rhino (3-1 favourite) in the concluding Citipost Handicap Hurdle.
The training partnership of Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero lost one of their stable stars in the preceding Glenfarclas Crystal Cup after Gesskille, a winner over the Grand National fences in last month’s Grand Sefton, suffered a fatal injury.
Jockey Henry Brooke, who was also on board Gesskille, showed great strength of character to dust himself down and steer White Rhino to victory, but was fighting back the tears afterwards.
He said: “It’s emotional. I’ve composed myself a bit now, but I’ve had a winner at Cheltenham and I could nearly say it’s the worst day of my racing career so far.
“I’m gutted to lose that horse (Gesskille), he means so much to the whole yard, but you can’t take it away from this lad here (White Rhino) – he’s done his job.
“We’ve got to pick ourselves up. Gesskille has been a massive part of my career and I’ll be indebted to him for a long time.”
Guerriero added: “You would swap it around and not have a winner and have Gesskille back, but that is the way it is. Gesskille was a stable star and he literally put us on the map. He has been amazing. To lose him is so sad, but that is racing, unfortunately.
“White Rhino has been brilliant for these owners – he has been a star. We might try and get him qualified for the Pertemps Final and maybe come back here for the Festival.”
A tilt at Randox Grand National glory looms large for Latenightpass after landing the Glenfarclas Crystal Cup at Cheltenham.
The 10-year-old has spent much of his career on the point-to-point and hunter chase circuit for the husband and wife team of trainer Tom Ellis and amateur rider Gina Andrews, memorably claiming the 2022 Foxhunters’ Chase over the National fences at Aintree.
Having finished fourth when defending his crown on Merseyside in the spring, connections decided on a change of tack late in his career, and there was plenty of encouragement to be taken from his cross-country debut and first start for Dan Skelton when second to Foxy Jacks at Prestbury Park last month.
With Andrews again in the saddle, Latenightpass was the 3-1 favourite to go one better four weeks later, and after travelling well, he found plenty for pressure following the final obstacle to score by four lengths from Francky Du Berlais.
Skelton said: “I thought coming away from last time that he acquitted himself very well but, to be fair, I don’t really know the horse that well.
“Tom (Ellis) trains him and, throughout all this, Bridget (Skelton, Gina Andrews’ sister) has done all the work on him.
“It has just been my name on the licence. He has been a massive addition to the team. Not all of them take to it, but he did.”
Asked about a tilt at the Grand National, the trainer added: “I’d say it is blindingly obvious (to have a go). I wouldn’t say he was superior there, as you have the likes of Galvin and Minella Indo, who you meet off level weights at the Festival.
“I think it is very acceptable to come back for the Festival and run against them without the expectation that you are going to beat them off level weights.
“I think Silver Birch ran in the cross-country race before winning the Grand National. I’m not saying we should be favourite for the Grand National, but I think he more than deserves his chance.
“He has got experience (over the Aintree fences), he stays the trip well. When you come out of hunter chases, you don’t know if you belong in a higher grade. I think he has probably now suggested twice that is the truth.”
There were also plenty of positives to take from the performance of Henry de Bromhead’s Minella Indo, with the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero appearing to relish his first cross-country experience on his way to finishing fourth under top-weight of 12 stone.
“After the schooling he had done at home, we were hoping he would put in a jumping performance like that,” said his rider Rachael Blackmore.
“He had to carry a lot of weight around there, so I thought it was a really good run. He took to those fences very well and he was a very enjoyable ride around them.
“Henry and the Maloneys (owners) will decide if he comes back in March, but it was a really great run and I very much enjoyed riding him.”
There was a sad postscript to the race, with Gesskille – a winner over the National fences in the Grand Sefton on his most recent appearance – suffering a fatal injury.
Despite falling three places to number 40 in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking, Jamaica's Reggae Girlz held firm as the fourth-ranked team in Concacaf heading into the new year.
The Jamaicans, who drew three and lost one of their last four matches in Women's Gold Cup qualifiers between the last two windows, remain behind second-ranked United States, 10th-ranked Canada, and Mexico, who inched one spot up to 35th in the rankings released on Friday.
Meanwhile, Haiti, who have attained their highest ever placing at 51st, along with Trinidad and Tobago (78th) and Guyana at 87th, are the next best Caribbean teams on the FIFA rankings list.
At the other end of the rankings, World Champions Spain took pole position for the first time, overtaking United States. Spain is only the fourth team to reach the summit of the rankings after the United States, Germany and Sweden.
France moved two spots up to third, as England held firm in fourth, while Sweden slipped four places into fifth. Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea DPR, and Canada (10th) complete the top 10 in that order, which no longer features Brazil, who slipped two places to 11th.
Opening batsman Brandon King played a crucial role in allowing the West Indies to take a 2-0 lead over England in their five-match T20I series at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada on Thursday.
The 28-year-old batted through the West Indian innings to help them post a formidable 176-7 from their 20 overs on a St. George’s pitch that offered a lot to the bowlers.
“We found it a bit difficult to start. It’s a low and slow pitch. Not what we’re used to here, we usually get a good batting wicket, so, we had to assess very quickly,” said King in a post-match interview.
“We lost some early wickets so we had to try and decide how to go about it in a smart way,” he added.
Individually, King made 82* off 52 balls, his eighth fifty in T20 Internationals, hitting eight fours and five sixes. His first run of the innings was also his 1000th in T20Is.
“I think there’s always some level of luck involved as well,” King said about being able to bat through the innings on that pitch.
“I was the one that got the start in the powerplay. It was difficult for new batters to come in and get going, especially against the spinners. We lost some early wickets so, given that I got the start, I tried to take it as deep as possible,” he added.
The hosts lost the wickets of Kyle Mayers (17), Nicholas Pooran (5), Shai Hope (1) and Shimron Hetmyer (2) all within the first 10 overs of their innings before King and skipper Rovman Powell combined to put on 80 for the fifth wicket.
“Extremely crucial,” was how King described Powell’s innings of 50 from 28 balls including a 30-run 16th over off Sam Curran.
“A fantastic innings from him. He eased the pressure off me a little bit as well. Nobody has the power that he has. There are some shots only he can play so it was very important at that stage of the innings that he got those quick runs,” King added.
Powell’s heroics were needed after England’s spin duo of Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed accounted for the wickets of Pooran, Hope and Hetmyer.
“The spinners. You could see from early they were getting some purchase from the wicket with the new ball. Adil Rashid is obviously a very experienced bowler who knows how to bowl around the world. He bowled an excellent spell. It was important to us to not give him too many wickets and take the majority of the runs off the pace bowlers,” King said.
On the bowling side for the West Indies, King said his teammates did well to follow the game plan and use information from their own innings.
“Taking the information from the first innings, we knew what lengths were difficult. We went out and tried to apply that in the field. The guys fielded well as well so we’re very happy with that,” he said.
He also singled out Gudakesh Motie for conceding just nine runs in his spell.
“Excellent spell from him. To bowl four overs for nine runs in a T20 game is amazing. A good call from the skipper and the coach to bring him in for this game. Obviously, they read the pitch very well so he was crucial for us today,” he said.
The West indies will have a chance to clinch the series with on Saturday in the third T20I beginning at 12:30pm Jamaica Time (1:30pm ECT) at the same venue.
Dan Skelton lowers Protektorat’s sights in a bid to get his season back on track in Saturday’s Favourite From The Sun Now Daily Handicap Chase at Cheltenham.
The eight-year-old has proved his worth at the very highest level over the past couple of seasons, most notably finishing third in the 2022 Cheltenham Gold before making a spectacular start to last season in the Betfair Chase at Haydock.
However, he subsequently failed to fire as a hot favourite in the Cotswold Chase, finished fifth on his second tilt at the Gold Cup and put up a disappointing defence of his Betfair crown last month.
As a result, Protektorat will run in a handicap for the first time in over two years this weekend and will have to concede upwards of 15lb to each of his rivals.
“It’s obviously something a little bit different, running him in a handicap with a lot of weight (12 stone),” said Skelton.
“Not many get in the handicap and I wanted to go somewhere with him before Lingfield (Fleur de Lys Chase, January 21).
“He was a close second in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham the last time he ran in a handicap, so we will give it a go.”
The next horse in the weights is the Paul Nicholls-trained Threeunderthrufive, who finished second in the Badger Beer at Wincanton on his seasonal reappearance.
Owner Max McNeill said: “We feel he’s a very good horse. He ran a great race at Wincanton, but the winner (Blackjack Magic) just kept going. That was his first run after a wind op and they always say the second run is better.
“He’s back up to 150 now and it’s a shame he’s still not going off 147 as he went up 3lb for the run at Wincanton, but that was fair.
“I do think he will run well. He ran a cracking race in the Scottish National last season (finished fourth).
“We had considered the Becher at Aintree last weekend, but that heavy ground wouldn’t have suited him and Paul also thought he didn’t want to possibly scare him over the National fences before he ran in it, because potentially you can end your National dream early.
“We thought about waiting for Ascot’s Silver Cup, but with that being two-mile-seven it might just be on the sharp side for him, so of all the big staying handicaps over Christmas, we felt this suited him best. I think he goes there with a good each-way chance.”
Irish hopes in the three-and-a-quarter-mile contest are carried by Gavin Cromwell’s Malina Girl, who bids for a second successive win in the Cotswolds having struck gold at the November meeting.
“She’s gone up a few pounds (11lb) for winning the last day, but she’s off a nice weight and Conor (Stone-Walsh) claims 5lb off as well,” said Cromwell.
“She seems in good nick and she knows how to win around the track. She took her last race well and is a hardy little mare.”
The only Graded race on Saturday’s card is the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, which has unsurprisingly attracted a number of promising staying types.
The likely favourite is Nicky Henderson’s £200,000 purchase Shanagh Bob following a dominant debut under rules at Plumpton, while Destroytheevidence brings experience to the table for Kim Bailey, having won three of his five starts over hurdles to date.
Ruth Jefferson’s Kerryhill and Cadell from Lucinda Russell’s yard are two interesting northern raiders, with the pair having finished first and second respectively in a novice hurdle at Kelso last month.
Jefferson said: “He did what he needed to do at Kelso and has come out of it well. The French Furze (at Newcastle) was abandoned and so we needed to make a new plan – and this was our new plan.
“You could bob round as an odds-on favourite in another ordinary novice and learn no more; yes, the bubble might burst on Saturday, but it might burst at some point anyway.
“I can’t see why he wouldn’t stay three miles and the ground shouldn’t be a problem.
“Most of the horses in the race have won a point-to-point and a novice hurdle. It might be our bubble that bursts, but it might be somebody else’s as well.”
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