Autumn racing round-up

In my last post, I asked for a return to a focus on the stars of racing: the horses – and the autumn racing has not disappointed. I had the great pleasure of returning to a racecourse for the first time in a long time, taking in day two of the Cheltenham November meeting and visiting Fergal O’Brien’s horses while I was at it (more on that next time).

The past month, under proper National Hunt conditions (bloody wet and often quite cold), has been a showcase of the great and good of jumping – a mixture of triumphant returns and surprise wins. So what have the big stories of November been?

Saturday 4 November: the Gold Cup Handicap Steeple Chase at Ascot saw 20-1 Victtorino hold off much shorter-priced and older competitors. It was only the five year-old’s second start on English soil but he seemed unfazed as he won by an easy six lengths.

Up in Wetherby, on soft ground, there were only four starters in the feature race. Two ‘Games’ fought it out for the Charlie Hall Chase, with Gentlemansgame beating favourite Bravemansgame after the latter made a mistake at the last.

Saturday 11 November: Frodon returned to the Badger Beer Handicap Chase to try to reclaim his crown, but despite a valiant run faded at the end. Instead, Blackjack Magic travelled well throughout and looked untroubled as he passed the winners post. Odds-on favourite Rubaud provided less of a surprise in the Elite Hurdle Race, also at Wincanton. The five year-old notched up his fourth consecutive win, having only really experienced one dip in form in the last 12 months.

Cheltenham November Meeting, 17-19 November: the November Meeting is the Cheltenham Festival’s little sister. It provides three days of classy racing with plenty of food for thought for looking ahead to both the King George VI Chase and the Festival itself.

The second day saw a lot of favourites winning (and a lot of seconds for the husband and me), but that hardly made it less thrilling. In the Novices’ Chase, five year-old joint favourite Broadway Boy outclassed the older field by some distance – 20 lengths, in fact. Then in the Gold Cup there was a deafening cheer for the syndicate-owned Stage Star, who rang strongly and recovered from a dreadful mistake at the last to go on to a comprehensive win. Trainer Paul Nicholls spoke warmly after the race about the benefits of syndicates such as Owners Group in bringing racing to a wider audience and giving the ordinary public more access to the sport and the horses. Stage Star’s ongoing success can only contribute to that.

On the Sunday, the Cheltenham Chase had only four runners, but it was a who’s who of big Festival names. It was Jonbon that triumphed: a nine-and-a-half-length win becoming his 12th victory in 14 starts.

Saturday 25 November: Much was made of Harry Cobden going to Ascot for Paul Nicholls, rather than heading up to the Betfair Chase with Bravemansgame. Given that he won all four of his rides at Ascot, it didn’t seem to have worried him much. Admittedly his win in the 1965 Chase was somewhat tainted by speculation of what the race could have been: Shiskin was entered and a win was much-anticipated…but at the start he simply planted and refused to race. It will be interesting to see what Nicky Henderson’s next move will be with the nine year-old. Nonetheless, Pic D’Orhy romped home under Cobden, who then followed up with a win on Blueking D’Oroux in the Coral Hurdle.

It’s hard to say what difference a Cobden ride on Bravemansgame would have made to the outcome of the Betfair Chase. The 8-11 favourite ran a competitive race, but in the end didn’t have enough in the tank to compete with Royale Pagaille. The nine year-old, trained by Venetia Williams and ridden by Charlie Deutsch hasn’t had a win since January 2022. It was impossible not to feel pleased for him and the team as Deutsch piloted him to a clear victory.

It’s been quite a month, and December will be no different. The next fortnight is packed with even more classics of the sport as we start opening our horse racing advent calendars to count down to the King George VI on Boxing Day.