A new star of the chasing ranks was born yesterday when Sir Gino made a stunning debut over fences. He beat Cheltenham Festival winner Ballyburn 7½ lengths with his ears pricked and barely coming off the bridle.
The four-runner Ladbroke Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase came under the heading “small is beautiful” but, because of a few changes in the programme, it meant a clash between the two big shots from either side of the Irish Sea came three months earlier than we have become accustomed to. It was a Grade One showdown for a Grade Two race, Cheltenham in March at Kempton in December, and it did not disappoint.
Apart from being a bit “sketchy” over the first, something jockey Nico de Boinville put down to him having never been so fast over a fence, Sir Gino’s jumping was electric to the point where he kept thrusting back into the lead past Ballyburn with such prodigious leaps that the last two down the back straight drew gasps from the crowd before he cruised away with it up the home straight.
Even allowing for the fact that Ballyburn’s last few starts have been over further and he might have found Kempton’s two miles a bit sharp – and the Willie Mullins bandwagon appears to have had a square wheel on it these past couple of days – Sir Gino’s victory was spectacular. It was as good a chasing debut as I have witnessed in years.
Nicky Henderson, who saw Constitution Hill maintain his unbeaten record on Boxing Day, has won this race with – among others – his three exceptional two-mile chasers, Remittance Man, Sprinter Sacre and Altior. Sir Gino is now even money for the Arkle, a race all three also won on their way to becoming Champion Chasers.
“So far he’s unblemished,” Henderson said of the unbeaten four-year-old. “He’s always been so talented and had so much scope [to jump a fence], it was nothing to do with him fitting around Constitution Hill [he subbed for him in the Fighting Fifth]. If he hadn’t done that today we could have gone back hurdling but now he has lost his maiden tag we need to make the most of his age allowance.
“He was there to do the talking today and he told you. He needs a bit more experience and we’ll probably look at the Kingmaker at Warwick. There’s no better track to start a horse off jumping and now he’s got to go and learn about Cheltenham and Ascot.
“We knew his jumping was electric. We took him out in the dark one morning a couple of months ago to see if he would make a chaser. Nico jumped five and said that was enough.”
The jockey described the race as “a lot of fun”. He added: “Everyone likes staying races but the top-class two-mile chasers take your breath away. I asked him a big question at the open ditch and he answered it.
“At the last he could have gone either way [long or short] but he chipped in and was very quick away. He was a bit sketchy at the first but the good ones soon work it out. We knew he had an engine and could jump, it was just a case of him joining all the dots together. Hopefully we’ve got another really good one on our hands. He’s an absolute monster.”
Paul Townend was downcast with Ballyburn. “I was taken by the winner,” he said. “He jumped brilliantly alongside me and I was having to work to stay with him. Ultimately it was disappointing.
“It probably would make us rethink [his optimum trip] but win, lose or draw today we were going to learn about him and he was going to learn more about racing. If you don’t try, you don’t find out and we have found out plenty, the two miles round here was fast enough for him.”
It was misty enough at Kempton but it was even foggier at Chepstow, where the Mel Rowley-trained Val Dancer, an 8-1 shot, won the Coral Welsh National. Though television cameras can make the dullest, dankest day look bright and sunny, they were unable to work much magic on the course’s big day with large parts of the race invisible.
“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” said Rowley, who turned professional when point-to-point was cancelled during Covid. “He’s a horse who has really come of age this year. He was really raw but he’s found his confidence. We’re just a small yard from sleepy Shropshire so to do this is really special.”
Jockey Charlie Hammond nearly won his first Grade One on Boxing Day when pushing Potters Charm all the way on Miami Magic at Aintree. “It’s a massive day for me,” he said afterwards.
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