Confidence is growing once more in Epatante, the Champion Hurdle favourite, who appears to have left behind whatever it was that caused her to cough last week. She was reported to have “jumped brilliantly” in a schooling session on Wednesday by her trainer, Nicky Henderson, who has no lingering doubts about her wellbeing ahead of the feature race on day one of the Cheltenham Festival next week.
“She coughed for two days,” Henderson said, “and as soon as I said something, she never coughed again. She’s 100% and has been ever since. I thought I’d better say something before some rumour gets out. She literally never coughed again. She’s in fantastic form.”
Henderson also sounded in good form after a schooling session at which a number of his big-name horses evidently fared well. “Epatante jumped brilliantly, Santini was great, Altior was electric. We’ve had a good morning.”
Epatante, available at 7-2, is one of 19 horses left in the Champion Hurdle after the latest entry stage. As expected, Willie Mullins supplemented Cilaos Emery into the race but did not add Benie Des Dieux, who is thought likely to run in the Mares Hurdle.
Henderson has left Mister Fisher in the Arkle Trophy, though he has previously suggested he was leaning towards the longer Marsh Chase later in the week. “We’re going to wait and see,” he said on Wednesday. “You’re not going to get much difference in the ground between the two days. I’m just going to pick which one I think is the most winnable race.”
Cheltenham racecourse officials are braced for a hit to the bottom line as a result of the coronavirus, with ticket sales declining in the build-up to jump racing’s biggest week. “The uncertainty has slowed down ticket sales and a few people are heeding advice that if they if they are elderly or unwell they should consider if they should be travelling or coming to an event of this nature,” said Ian Renton, the Jockey Club’s regional director.
Additional toilets and hand-washing facilities are being set up and extra staff will operate in all toilet areas to ensure that soap and drying facilities are constantly available. Antibacterial hand gel will be offered and posters around the racecourse will remind people of the public health advice. Renton said there was no sign that the number of Irish visitors, who traditionally travel to Cheltenham in huge numbers, would drop significantly.
Wincanton
1.50 Little River Bay 2.25 Sending Love 3.00 Dr Oakley 3.35 Putdecashonthedash 4.10 Darsi In The Park (nap) 4.45 Quite By Chance 5.20 Time To Tinker
Southwell
2.00 Light Lily 2.35 Betushka 3.10 Champagne Mondays 3.45 Charlie Arthur 4.20 Samovar 4.50 Mukha Magic
Carlisle
2.15 Barnay 2.50 Lastin' Memories 3.25 First Account 4.00 Real Armani (nb) 4.35 Mint Condition 5.10 Charlie Snow Angel 5.45 Honda Fifty
Newcastle
4.55 Agreed 5.30 Street Life 6.00 War Whisper 6.30 Mia Mento 7.00 Hunters Step 7.30 Betty Grable 8.00 Inductive 8.30 Patrick
Foxhunter offers Loxton trio of chances for golden Festival
While the racing world occupies its thoughts with the running plans of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott in the buildup to next week’s Cheltenham Festival, a more modest yard near the Somerset village of Bruton is quietly preparing for its biggest day yet.
Rose Loxton, who used to show up in a lot of pictures alongside Kauto Star and Big Buck’s during her years working for Paul Nicholls, is planning to have no fewer than three runners in the Foxhunter Chase on Friday week, giving her a serious chance of a first success in jump racing’s biggest week.
“I don’t even want to think about it,” she says, having answered the phone while riding out on Tuesday morning. “I’ve only got two racing bridles, I’m going to have to borrow one from Paul.”
Victory would be an extremely welcome change of luck because Loxton has been in the wars. A horror fall in November 2018 sent her to hospital in an air ambulance with a laundry list of injuries and, while she was being treated, doctors discovered she was also suffering from cancer.
Showing the toughness for which jump-racing folk are known, Loxton, born and raised on the Galway coast, is inclined to look for the positives. “If I hadn’t fallen off a horse, I would never have found out I had cancer.
“I’ve had lots of treatment, I’ve had operations and I’m still going in every three weeks to have what they call a management drug. That goes on for another three or four months, I think. Fingers crossed, the doctors seem really happy.
“It’s not something you can cure. It’s something you just keep under the thumb. I’m so busy with the horses, I hardly think about it.
“It just seemed such a simple fall, but I kind of fell under the horse and then he tripped over me. I had a compound fracture of my right leg, a broken collar bone and a few ribs and I punctured my lung. About a month after the accident, I still had my leg in a cast but I just had to get on a horse, to see if I could, so I rode around the roads. The children were furious.”
Cheltenham Festival stat of the day, by Paul Ferguson
Mares who started life in point to points and bumpers have a poor record in the Dawn Run Mares Novice Hurdle, which would be a negative for current market leader Minella Melody. The positive with her is that she won the same Grade 3 which both Limini and Laurina won before taking this. In contrast to the traditional National Hunt background, all four winners to date were trained by Willie Mullins and had started their careers in France.
The Weatherbys Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide 2020, written by Paul Ferguson, is published this week and available through this link for £15.95.
Catterick 2.20 Pepper Street 2.50 Django Django (nap) 3.20 Zoutoise 3.50 Las Tunas 4.20 Transpennine Star 4.50 Wishing And Hoping 5.25 Anythingforlove (nb)
Lingfield 2.30 Golden Times 3.00 Renardeau 3.30 Pitcher’s Point 4.00 Al Daiha 4.30 Corvair 5.00 Percy’s Prince
Kempton 5.15 Star Of Bengal 5.45 Songo 6.15 Be Fair 6.45 Cemhaan 7.15 Chares 7.45 Fujaira King 8.15 Griggy
Fontwell Abandoned (waterlogged)
