Cape Tribulation will bid for back-to-back
victories in Wetherby's Grade Three William Hill Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase
over three miles and a furlong, the highlight of the two-day William Hill
Yorkshire Winter Festival on Boxing Day, Thursday, December 26.
The nine-year-old was a
hugely impressive 11-length winner of the £40,000 contest last year and
followed that up with a decisive half-length success in the Argento Chase at
Cheltenham in January. 
Malcolm Jefferson's charge
rounded off last season with creditable efforts in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and
Betfred Bowl at Aintree, but has failed to fire in two starts this term. He was
pulled up in the Grade Two bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on November 2,
before trailing home in 16th under top-weight in the Grade Three Hennessy Gold
Cup at Newbury on November 30.
Jefferson, who also
captured the Wetherby prize with According To Pete in 2011, reported:
"Cape Tribulation is on course for the William Hill Rowland Meyrick
Handicap Chase.
"We were expecting a
bit more from him at Newbury, but it is not the easiest race in the world to
carry top-weight. Jack Doyle felt he needed it a bit and he has actually come
on for the run.
"We lost a little bit
of time with him at the end of last season and he was meant to go to York on
the Flat for the race he was just beaten in last year, but he was just held up.
"There is only so
much work you can do with them and he came back very fat this year, which has
meant it has taken that bit longer to get him fit. He seems in good nick now
though and I am very happy with him.
"He has come down a
bit in the ratings and, with Wayward Prince running, he won't carry top-weight,
so that will be a help."
The William Hill Rowland
Meyrick Handicap Chase boasts a tremendous roll of honour, featuring the
subsequent Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Forgive 'N Forget (1984) and The Thinker
(1986). No horse has ever won back-to-back renewals.
A six-race programme at
Wetherby on Boxing Day gets underway at 12.45pm and runs through to 3.25pm,
with all the races sponsored for the first time by William Hill.
The same sponsor also
backs all six races on Friday, December 27, when the highlight is the £20,000
William Hill Castleford Handicap Chase.
Jefferson has a good
recent record in the two-mile contest, having scored with Calatagan in 2006 and
2007, and will be represented this year by unbeaten chaser King Of The Wolds.
The six-year-old has scored in novice handicap company at Sedgefield over two
and a half miles and Fakenham over two and three-quarter miles.
Jefferson added:
"King Of The Wolds will be my runner in the William Hill Castleford
Handicap Chase.
"I don't think the
drop back in trip will be a problem, especially on soft ground and given the
way he jumps. He has won a two-mile novices' hurdle at Wetherby anyway (on
December 27, 2012).
"He has done well in
his two starts over fences so far and I am hoping for a nice run. We like the
horse."
Entries for the William
Hill Yorkshire Winter Festival close tomorrow, Friday, December 20, and
Saturday, December 21.
Gates open at 10.00am on
both days of the William Hill Yorkshire Winter Festival, with complimentary
mince pies and mulled wine on offer for the early arrivals. Tickets can be
purchased online at www.wetherbyracing.co.uk. There is free entry for
accompanied children aged 17 and under.
Eight-time course winner
and local favourite Mister McGoldrick will be in attendance on Boxing Day as
part of a display from New Beginnings, the Yorkshire-based enterprise that
provides a safe, secure and supportive environment for retired racehorses.
The William Hill Yorkshire
Winter Festival at Wetherby forms part of the wider Go Racing In Yorkshire
Winter Festival, which continues at Catterick on Saturday, December 28 and
Doncaster on Sunday, December 29. This four-day jumping extravaganza takes
place for the first time in 2013 and follows on from the Go Racing In Yorkshire
Summer Festival which has been held very successfully for the past six years.
A racecard competition
with the prize of a two-night stay in the Crown Hotel at Bawtry will run during
the Go Racing In Yorkshire Winter Festival, while the most successful trainer
and jockey over the four days will each win an overnight stay at the Raithwaite
Estate, the luxury country retreat situated close to Whitby on the North
Yorkshire coast.
Going
The current going at
Wetherby is Good to Soft.
Wetherby's Chief Executive
and Clerk of the Course, Jonjo Sanderson, reported: "We have had a
reasonably dry last month or so, with the exception of a couple of days of
prolonged rain.
"The latest weather
forecasts for the next seven days suggest that further rain showers, possibly
heavy at times, will pass over Wetherby tomorrow and on Monday. Tomorrow also
looks to be another quite windy day.
"The forecast
temperatures are above average for this time of year, with between 7C and 10C
from now right though into Christmas week, before possibly dropping back to
4C/5C around Christmas Day and beyond."
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