Matchbook Betting Exchange Handicap Chase |
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| Cheltenham 14:00 £60,000 added, 4yo plus, 3m 1f, Class 2  |
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| Saturday 27th October 2018 | |
1 Relentless Dreamer 16/1
2 Cogry 7/1 JF
3 West Approach 9/1
4. Calett Mad 7/1 JF
16 ran NR: Minella Rocco Distances: nk, 11l, 4½l
Time: 6m 19.90s (slow by 14.90s)
Relentless Dreamer gutsily saw off Cogry in Cheltenham’s opener
Relentless Dreamer (near side) and Cogry fight out the finish
Rebecca Curtis is dreaming of Aintree with Relentless Dreamer after the nine-year-old came out on top in a thrilling finish with Cogry, winner of this race 12 months ago.
West Approach (Colin Tizzard/Richard Johnson) led the 16 runners for much of the contest with a bold display of jumping, but was headed at the second last by Cogry and Relentless Dreamer.
7/1 co-favourite Cogry (Nigel Twiston-Davies/Sam Twiston-Davies) took up the running with a good jump at the final fence, but was joined soon after by Relentless Dreamer, who prevailed by a neck under Adam Wedge following a tremendous battle up the run-in.
West Approach took third, 11 lengths in arrears, with another four and a half lengths back to Calett Mad (Nigel Twiston-Davies/Daryl Jacob).
Rebecca Curtis, based in West Wales, said: "It's great to be back here and it's so nice for Nigel Morris, who is one of my best owners. I am delighted for him to have a winner here too.
"Relentless Dreamer had some good form in some decent handicaps but, after bringing him back in the summer, his bits of work over the past few weeks suggested that he had improved.
"The one race I would love to see him in is the Randox Health Grand National. We wouldn't want the handicapper to put him up too much in the weights but I think Aintree would really suit him. Hopefully, if we can get him up to that rating, it would be a thrill to get him there.
"There is a similar race for him at The November Meeting (the G3 BetVictor Handicap Chase) and the plan was to come here and go for that if he ran well today, so that is what we will do."
Adam Wedge added: "Going down to the last, there wasn't a stride and I just sat - I thought it could have lost me the race. But Relentless Dreamer has stuck his head out and is very game.
"I kept looking and the winning post seemed to be further away than ever. You can't fault the horse - he is fantastic."
Matchbook Betting Exchange Handicap Chase
£60,000 added, 4yo plus, 3m 1f, Class 2
16 ran
Going: Good
| Pos | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Relentless Dreamer (IRE) 16/1 | Adam Wedge 10-3 |
Miss R Curtis | 9 | |
| 2nd | nk | Cogry 7/1c | Sam Twiston-Davies 10-4 |
N A Twiston-Davies | 9 |
| 3rd | 11 | West Approach 9/1 | R Johnson 10-12 |
C L Tizzard | 8 |
| 4th | 4½ | Calett Mad (FR) 7/1c | D A Jacob 10-11 |
N A Twiston-Davies | 6 |
| 5th | 5 | For Good Measure (IRE) 7/1c | T J O'Brien 10-1 |
P J Hobbs | 7 |
| 6th | 2 | Shantou Village (IRE) 7/1c | R T Dunne 10-13 |
N P Mulholland | 8 |
| 7th | 1 | Above Board (IRE) 17/2 | Aidan Coleman 10-2 |
Jonjo O'Neill | 7 |
| 8th | ½ | Dell' Arca (IRE) 14/1 | T Scudamore 10-11 |
D Pipe | 9 |
| 9th | nse | Braqueur D'Or (FR) 8/1 | H Cobden 10-4 |
P F Nicholls | 7 |
| 10th | 5 | Swingbridge (IRE) 33/1 | James Bowen 10-1 |
G Elliott | 10 |
| 11th | 1 | Perfect Candidate (IRE) 33/1 | P J Brennan 11-7 |
F O'Brien | 11 |
| 12th | 14 | Doing Fine (IRE) 14/1 | L P Aspell 10-4 |
N P Mulholland | 10 |
| 13th | 1 | Rightdownthemiddle (IRE) 50/1 | Sean Bowen 10-2 |
G Elliott | 10 |
| 14th | 12 | Captain Chaos (IRE) 18/1 | Harry Skelton 10-7 |
D Skelton | 7 |
| PU | Laurium 20/1 | Nico de Boinville 11-0 |
N J Henderson | 8 | |
| PU | Domesday Book (USA) 25/1 | Wayne Hutchinson 10-6 |
Stuart Edmunds | 8 | |
| NR | Minella Rocco (IRE) | B J Geraghty 11-12 |
Jonjo O'Neill | 8 |
