There was another winner for Dan Skelton on the final day of the November meeting at Cheltenham on Sunday but a reminder too, at Navan, that his trainers’ title rival, Willie Mullins’s immensely powerful team, is scarcely out of first gear. Final Demand, one of the best novice hurdlers last season, made a flawless debut over fences and suddenly Mullins’s squad for the Grade Ones at the festival back here in March is beginning to take shape.
The style and strength of his 13-length defeat of Wingmen – also a useful novice hurdler last year – was such that he is now just 6-4 for the Brown Advisory Novice Chase at the festival.
“He was just so natural, wasn’t he?” Mullins said afterwards. “Jumping down the back, taking fences in his stride. I got a little worried coming to the third-last that he was getting a little tired, and I thought Jack [Kennedy, on Wingmen] was getting a little closer. When they were over the third-last, Paul just gave him a squeeze and a shake, and next thing he just started opening up again. His jumping was so natural, it was fantastic.”
The final day of the November meeting is as close as Cheltenham gets to a “family” day – there was even a mascot race to keep the crowd entertained – but there was a distinct hint of quality about the way Joe Tizzard’s Alexei accelerated six lengths clear of the runner-up after the last in the card’s feature event, the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle.
Plumpton 12.50 Fountains Blenhein 1.20 Clear Storm 1.50 Alto Alto 2.20 Listentoyourheart (nap) 2.50 Final Straw 3.19 Ballyfinn 3.50 Belcamo
Leicester 1.10 Maccarellu 1.40 Mind Hunter 2.09 Trad Jazz 2.40 Little Venice 3.10 Island Bridge 3.40 Wind Your Neck In
Exeter 1.30 Harry Lowes 2.00 Lulamba 2.30 A Path To Ronda 3.00 Denemethy (nb) 3.30 Mythe Bridge 4.00 Jakar Du Moulin
Newcastle 3.35 Savvy Victory 4.10 Ilraawi 4.40 Light The Night Up 5.10 Parole Officer 5.40 Applesandpears 6.10 Maelstrom 6.40 La Scanderbeide 7.10 J Street
A scattering of subsequent Grade One winners, both over hurdles and fences, have won this race in the past and the German-bred Alexei even received a 40-1 quote for next year’s Champion Hurdle after following up a win at Ascot earlier this month, though his trainer is taking it one race at a time.
“I thought this was the best I’d had him but this was a step up again”, Tizzard said. “I’m just enjoying what he’s doing at the moment. I haven’t got a plan, the plan was these two and that’s where we’re at.”
