MAIL DE
BIEVRE SUPPLEMENTED
Jump racing's brightest
star Sprinter Sacre heads the 10 contenders for the £365,760 Grade One
Sportingbet Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.20pm), the highlight of Ladies Day,
Wednesday, March 13.
Nicky Henderson's charge
is set to go off the shortest-priced favourite for a Festival contest since
Arkle at 1/10 in the 1966 Cheltenham Gold Cup with race sponsor Sportingbet
making him a 1/4 shot.
The seven-year-old won all
five of his starts over fences last season, including the Grade One Racing Post
Arkle Trophy Chase when beating Cue Card by seven lengths, and has
continued in tremendous form this term with effortless displays in the
Sportingbet Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown and the rearranged Victor Chandler
Chase at Cheltenham in January, scoring by 15 and 14 lengths respectively.
Henderson is also
responsible for the reigning champion Finian's Rainbow, who got the
better of 2011 hero Sizing Europe last year in an epic duel up the
famous Cheltenham hill. He has been disappointing this season, trailing home
last in both his starts at Ascot, while Sizing Europe is unbeaten in five
starts since last year's Festival, bagging two Grade Ones and three Grade Twos
in Ireland for trainer Henry de Bromhead.
Trainer Tom George, based
at Slad near Cheltenham, has supplemented highly-regard French import Mail
De Bievre at a cost of £17,500. The eight-year-old was one of the leading
chasers in France in the spring of 2010 but injury has restricted him to only
two starts since.
He made his debut for
George in the Grade Two Denman Chase at Newbury on February 9, and, despite
catching the eye with his excellent jumping when setting a strong pace, failed
to stay the three-mile trip, coming home fifth.
George revealed:
"Mail De Bievre's preparation has gone very well since his run at Newbury.
We feel he has improved and is right where we want him.
"It was his first run
for a year and a half and he shaped like a horse who needed the run. He's
entitled to come on for it and I would not be worried about the bounce factor.
"Paddy (Brennan) was
very impressed with him at Newbury and said he was never out of second gear,
but you can not sustain that pace over three miles and he did very well to last
for as long as he did.
"He has an
unbelievably high cruising speed and he is a very exuberant jumper so that is
why we wanted to come right back to two miles. It looks like everyone is
playing for second behind Sprinter Sacre and we feel we have the horse that
could fill that spot.
"We schooled him on
better ground two days ago and Paddy felt he really enjoyed it. He is a really
good mover but I don't think ground really matters to him."
The confirmations also
include last season's Grade One Victor Chandler Chase winner Somersby,
trained by Mick Channon, and Grade Two scorers Wishfull Thinking (Philip
Hobbs) and Sanctuaire (Paul Nicholls).
The line up is completed
by Realt Dubh, trained in Ireland by Noel Meade, and Richard Rowe's Tataniano,
who won a Grade One contest at Aintree in April, 2010.
Sportingbet Queen Mother
Champion Chase - sponsor's prices:
1/4 Sprinter Sacre, 5/1
Sizing Europe, 12/1 Finian's Rainbow, Mail De Bievre, 18/1 Sanctuaire, 20/1
Wishfull Thinking, 25/1 Somersby, 33/1 Realt Dubh, 100/1 Tataniano Each way
1/4 odds, 1, 2, - non runner, no bet
Ladies' Day gets underway
with the John Oaksey National Hunt Chase over four miles. There are 30 horses
going forward for the £85,000 contest including leading fancies Back In
Focus, Rival d'Estruval and Buddy Bolero.
Some of the leading novice
hurdlers in Britain and Ireland will clash in the £120,000 Grade One Neptune
Investment Management Novices' Hurdle (2.05pm) over two miles and five
furlongs. The 24 acceptors feature hot favourite Pont Alexandre, trained
by Irish champion Willie Mullins, The New One, from the stable of Nigel
Twiston-Daviesand Jonjo O'Neill's Taquin De Seuil.
Dynaste, trained by David Pipe,
is among 21 contenders going forward for the £150,000 Grade One RSA Chase
(2.40pm) over an extended three miles. Other notables include Paul Stewart
IronSpine Charity Challenge Gold Cup victor Unioniste and the Willie
Mullins pair Boston Bob and Back In Focus.
There is a traditionally
strong Irish representation in the £60,000 Grade One Weatherbys Champion Bumper
(5.15pm) with 12 of the 34 possibles trained in Ireland. Leading British hope Empiracle,
trained by Jeremy Scott, also goes forward.
Large fields look assured
for the £80,000 Grade Three Coral Cup (4.00pm) and the £75,000 Fred Winter
Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (4.40pm) with 112 and 51 confirmations respectively.
GOLD CUP
DAY SOLD OUT
Gold Cup Day (Friday,
March 15) is now a sell out, with the last few Club Enclosure badges having
been sold today. The only remaining option for people wishing to be at
Cheltenham to see the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup is to book hospitality, for
which there is extremely limited availability.
Hospitality can be booked
by calling 01242 537653.
GOING
The going at Cheltenham is
currently Good to Soft on both the Chase and Hurdles Courses, and Good
to Soft, Soft in Places on the Cross Country Course, after four millimetres
of rain today, Thursday, March 7.
Simon Claisse, Head of
Racing, South West Region & Cheltenham's Clerk of the Course, commented:
"We have had four millimetres of rain today and we are now expecting up to
10 millimetres before The Festival.
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