The Betfair Chase will steal the headlines, but there are two very exciting Grade 2s at Ascot to savour this Saturday too. The fields for each are previewed below, with a fantastic offer from William Hill of Bet £10 – Get £30 In Free Bets
CHANELLE PHARMA 1965 CHASE
History
First run in 1981, the race is so titled for the year in which Ascot first hosted jumps racing upon its turf. Its strategic place in the calendar have ensured that many top horses have made this a target in the past.
Furthermore, because of its intermediate distance, three Champion Chasers feature as past winners (Deep Sensation, Master Minded & Politologue), but so do a King George winner (Wayward Lad) and, more remarkably, two Grand National winners (The Tsarevich and Red Marauder).
Unsurprisingly, Paul Nicholls is the winningest trainer in the race, having won it seven times. The most recent of those in 2019 was a race that will go down in racing history.
It was the day that Altior finally met his match after 19 successive victories. The horse Nicholls sent out to beat him was, of course, Cyrname, the Ascot specialist who cemented his place as the highest-rated equine over fences. It says something of the duel both had, that neither individual could put up a performance like it again.
Though the Grade 1 shadow of the Betfair Chase looms over the 1965 chase, this is a prestigious contest; Vautour was lured over for his seasonal bow in 2015, winning in typically graceful fashion. The 2021 renewal has a lot of recent history to live up to.
This Year’s Field
The six runners make up as open a contest as you could possibly wish for. That is probably because all six individuals have something to prove.
Dashel Drasher and Master Tommytucker both carry penalties for separate victories last season. The former is the narrow market leader and that is probably justified. He racked off a hat-trick at Ascot last season, culminating in a brave front-running display in the Grade 1 Ascot Chase, in which he beat the latter by two lengths. While that is undoubtedly the best recent form in the lineup, he has to prove that was not simply him seizing a presentable opportunity.
The precocious Master Tommytucker can often be his own worst enemy. He fell three times as a novice and nearly did the same in Kempton’s Silviniaco Conti Chase in January, with the race at his mercy, and that despite jumping well beforehand. He was too exuberant on his comeback over hurdles, but back over fences and this trip, he is entitled to go close once again.
Thereafter, the field becomes even more fascinating. If running to their best, Defi Du Seuil and Lostintranslation would have this to themselves. Perhaps their presence against each other will spur them on once again, as they regularly did battle as novices in the 2018/19 season.
The score back then was 2-1 to Defi Du Seuil and there’s a sense of deja-vu when it comes to Philip Hobbs’ eight-year-old. After going unbeaten as a juvenile hurdler, he subsequently lost all form before returning as a top-class novice chaser. Just over 18 months ago, he was sent off 2/5 favourite for the Champion Chase. Yet again, however, he lost his way. A second comeback could well occur given he’s still young enough, but the jury is out after ten more months off the track.
Lostintranslation went in the opposite direction in terms of trip. His victory in the Betfair Chase two years ago is the only time Bristol De Mai has been beaten in that race. And yet he hasn’t won a race since. On the six occasions he has got to the course, only his third place in the 2020 Gold Cup, which he nearly won, has shown him to best effect. Three bouts of wind surgery suggests ideas are running thin now.
The final pair of Bennys King and Pistol Whipped warrant mention. The former is another with excellent Ascot form, particularly at this trip. He has often needed his reappearance and his form ties in with Dashel Drasher’s. If he were to drift sufficiently, he could be a good each-way option. Pistol Whipped did his winning over the spring, meanwhile, and warrants his place on ratings now. That said, his form prior to April would leave him a mammoth task here.
Big Race Verdict
It’s difficult to know what version of any of these six will turn up. Setting out on a tick-box approach might be the most prudent and so most of those are ticked here by MASTER TOMMYTUCKER, although if either Defi Du Seuil or Lostintranslation were to turn up in anywhere near their peak form, they would take all the beating.
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CORAL HURDLE
History
Much like its chasing counterpart above, the Coral Hurdle, registered as the Ascot Hurdle, has some massive names on the winners’ board.
No fewer than seven Champion Hurdlers have taken this, both before and after their Cheltenham heroics. Throw in Stayers Hurdle champion Baracouda and dual King George victor Silviniaco Conti and the roll call really starts to take shape.
It has been both a race to establish reputations, in Silviniaco Conti’s case and fellow four-year-old Zaynar’s the year before him, but also to maintain them. Both Hardy Eustace and Rock On Ruby won this at the age of 10 after losing their Champion Hurdle crowns.
Martin Pipe took this five times at the height of Pond House’s power and he still reigns supreme as top trainer in this race, aided largely by his combination with A.P. McCoy.
This Year’s Field
The defending champion returns. Song For Someone put in an excellent hurdling display to beat just two rivals in this a year ago, but he initially franked the form by winning the International Hurdle at Cheltenham next time out. The wheels subsequently fell off though, as he was trounced by Goshen in the Kingwell Hurdle then never travelled in the Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle. Tom Symonds’ star is still only six and connections will be hoping wind surgery has done the trick.
Speaking of Goshen, he’s also back in action here. Goodness knows what to expect from him. After hanging wildly right throughout the Champion Hurdle after that impressive Kingwell victory at Wincanton, he found Punchestown’s Champion hurdle too deep for him. Then again, back in this country, going right-handed, he’ll surely be allowed to just do his own thing: that is what has enabled his best performances, although it will be interesting to see how he handles the ground.
Similarly, there’s no shortage of front-runners here. Song For Someone is usually prominent, as is the mare Molly Ollys Wishes who stormed home in Wetherby’s Mares’ Hurdle last month. Translating that form against the boys will be tough, but that was up there with her best performances to date.
At the other end of the tactical dilemma are Buzz and Guard Your Dreams, both of whom are likely to watch on from the back. They’re also at separate ends of the market. Buzz heads it and is in terrific form. He was second in the Aintree Hurdle to Abacadabras and a repeat of that, or even his Cesarewitch winning effort on the flat, would give him a wonderful chance.
Guard Your Dreams’ best effort last term was probably his third to My Drogo in the Grade 1 Mersey Novices’ Hurdle. He returned with a handicap victory off a mark of 140 at Cheltenham and that represented significant improvement. He is going the right way, though this is easily the strongest race he will have contested to date.
Big Race Verdict
Goshen should have few issues up in trip and right-handed tracks are obviously preferable for the quirky five-year-old. However, conceding 6lbs to BUZZ might be beyond him, with the grey’s form rock solid throughout last season. Song For Someone might find something of a revival, but this is a much tougher race than the one he won last year.
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