Cue Card, the winner of the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March 2013, recorded his first success for nearly two years in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on Saturday.
Ridden for the first time by Paddy Brennan, Cue Card adopted his usual frontrunning tactics and stayed on well after the final fence to hold the late charge of Dynaste by three-and-three-quarter lengths. Ballynagour, a stablemate of Dynaste at the David Pipe stable, was another neck away in third.
Cue Card had not run at the Cheltenham Festival since his victory there in 2013, and had had a wind operation following his final start of the 2014-2015 campaign.
“I know where Bob and Jean [Bishop, the owners of Cue Card] would like to go, Haydock [and the Betfair Chase] for the flat track,” Colin Tizzard, Cue Card’s trainer, said. “But if the handicapper doesn’t put him up, maybe we’ll look at the Hennessy.
“After last season it’s great to see him come back, you’d have to say he looked back to his best.
“It was a lovely ride by Paddy. I asked him whether he was going to go down the inner or the outer and he said he was going to do both. Paddy is a very confident guy and he’s been confident ever since he started schooling him.
“His work has been very good of late, but as a few of mine were blowing up first time, we decided we couldn’t come here without giving him a racecourse gallop [at Wincanton]. We only did it on Monday, but he went a good two miles and maybe that’s helped him.
“He had a trapped oesophagus last season and it was literally blocking his whole air pipe. I don’t know how he was managing to trot, never mind gallop.”
At Down Royal, Don Cossack justified a starting price of 2-11 with ease in the Grade One JNwine.com Champion Chase. Gordon Elliott’s chaser, who is prominent in ante-post betting for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, eased into the lead four fences from home and cruised to an eight-length success.
“He was a little lazy and wasn’t really in love with the ground,” Bryan Cooper, Don Cossack’s jockey, said, “but I was always confident. He keeps stepping up.”
Don Cossack is an 8-1 chance for the Gold Cup, alongside last year’s winner Coneygree, in a market headed by Vautour at 5-1.
Pendra, the 11-2 favourite, took the feature event at Ascot, the Sodexo Gold Cup Handicap Chase, under a patient ride by Barry Geraghty. The success completed an across-the-cards treble for Charlie Longsdon, who also won with Masterplan in the opener at Ascot and Kilcooley in the West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby.
“Finally, he has won one,” Longsdon said. “He has been short-priced in handicaps at the last three Cheltenham Festivals and it is nice to win a big prize as it was long overdue.
“I said to Barry [Geraghty] beforehand that it would be good if he could win a big handicap at some stage. He was wrong last year and he had a wind operation, but he is fresh and well and put it all in.”
Simonsig will not run in the Sportingbet Haldon Gold Cup Chase at Exeter on Tuesday. His trainer, Nicky Henderson, will instead give the long-absent grey a first start since March 2013 in a race over hurdles at Aintree next Saturday.
“Simonsig won’t be going to Exeter on Tuesday, he will go to Aintree for the two-and-a-half-mile hurdle next Saturday,” Henderson, who trains the grey, said on Saturday.
“I am going there with him as it will be easier to switch him off over two-and-a-half miles over hurdles than it will be fences. I could end up having three going there as Top Notch will have an entry and [the former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner] Bobs Worth needs a run before the Hennessy.
“Bobs Worth worked so well this morning that I am regretting the fact I didn’t run him [in the Charlie Hall] at Wetherby.”
At the Breeders’ Cup meeting at Keeneland in Kentucky, Songbird was an impressive winner of the Grade One Juvenile Fillies’ under Mike Smith, who was extending his record as the most successful rider in Cup history with a 22nd success.
Frankie Dettori was out of luck on his first ride on the main card, as Undrafted, one of the market leaders for the Turf Sprint, was slowly away from the stalls and could make no impression as the 15-1 chance Mongolian Saturday went on to win by a neck.
Royal Ascot winner Undrafted had just one behind him through the early stages and although making some progress the Wes Ward-trained gelding was under pressure turning for home. Dettori said of his mount: “He wants six and a half furlongs, the ground is proper good, but not fast enough for him.”
Ryan Moore partnered The Great War for Ward but could never get in a blow.
