El Presente scored a battling win in the Badger Beers Silver Trophy here, showing himself to be one of the most improved jumps horses around right now and setting himself up for a tilt at the Bet365 Gold Cup in the spring. His trainer, Kim Bailey, summed up the horse’s progress by saying: “I’m so pleased for his owners because he had a shit year last year”.
One of the game’s great frustrations is that you can know your horse has talent and yet be repeatedly unable to prove it. The tale of woe for El Presente last winter began at this track in December, when Bailey imagined he was “a certainty” but watched in dismay as he unseated his rider at halfway. Then the rains came and that was no good for a horse who wants a sound surface.
Eventually, his owners insisted on running one day in March on heavy going, a race that yielded no prize money but did uncover the vital knowledge that El Presente needed a breathing operation. That done, he has been busy making hay since jumps racing resumed in July, this victory being his fourth success in four months.
“We had more or less roughed him off after his last run,” Bailey said. “It rained, so I thought he’d had his season. Then it started to dry up again. So we threw in an entry and then thought we might as well go. We didn’t think he’d win, we really didn’t.
When he got beat at Market Rasen [in August], we thought we’d discovered his limitations. But he’s so tough.”
That need for fast ground means El Presente will now be given a winter holiday. Bailey’s aim is to bring him back for the big handicap chase at Sandown on the last day of the season in April, possibly with a prep run beforehand. The Grand National is not thought a suitable target, as the horse prefers a right‑handed circuit.
“That was good fun, I love riding him,” said David Bass, the winning jockey. “He jumps for fun. He was a fit horse who likes the ground and stays all day.”
Stratford
12.20 Cremant 12.50 Innisfree Lad 1.25 Miss Gemstone 2.00 Prince Escalus 2.35 Enzo D'Airy 3.10 Go On Brycey Lad 3.40 Opechee 4.10 Greatest Star
Sandown
12.40 First Lord De Cuet 1.15 Flegmatik (nap) 1.50 Your Darling 2.25 If The Cap Fits 3.00 Mister Coffey 3.30 Horatio Hornblower (nb) 4.00 Mont Segur
Ffos Las
1.07 Shakem Up'Arry 1.42 Hitman 2.17 Ask Me Early 2.50 On The Road 3.25 Out The Glen 3.55 Donatello Mail 4.25 Sexy Lot
Paul Nicholls fielded three fancied runners in a race he had won for the previous three years and the local trainer seemed set to extend that run as My Way went five lengths clear in the straight. But the youngster’s early exertions took their toll and he was passed by three rivals close to home.
El Presente narrowly denied Potterman, a rare setback on an otherwise excellent afternoon for Alan King. His Barbury Castle yard won the November Handicap at Doncaster with On To Victory, who will now go back to hurdling, and also the Elite Hurdle here with Sceau Royal, who could be called the winner a long way from home.
“It’s been a marvellous day and we mustn’t be greedy about the one that got away,” King said. “We’ll see how Sceau Royal is in the morning, but he might be one for the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham next weekend.
“He looks as good as he’s ever been, but we wouldn’t be running him too much on midwinter ground so we might have another go before it starts raining again.”
