Harry Cobden will miss Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham on Saturday afternoon as the recently named JP McManus-retained rider still recovers from a fall at Ascot. Meanwhile, the owners of Kopek Des Bordes expect last year’s Supreme winner to line up at Leopardstown for the Dublin Racing Festival. We look at all the big horse racing headlines for Thursday 22 January.
Harry Cobden remains on sidelines after Ascot fall
Harry Cobden will not be seen riding at Cheltenham this weekend for Festival Trials Day. After partnering Winston Junior to victory at Asccot last Saturday, the star jockey then suffered a fall on-board Neon Moon later in the day and missed the big ride on Jonbon in the Clarence House Chase. Having tried to get fit for Cheltenham on Saturday, his agent Sam Stronge has announced the recently named JP McManus retained rider will remain on the sidelines for the weekend. Stronge said: “He’s still sore and going to give himself some more time. We were rushing to be back for Saturday, so we’ll give him a few more days and hopefully he’ll be back next week (Racing Post)
Kopek Des Bordes on course for Irish Arkle at Leopardstown
An emphatic winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last season, Kopek Des Bordes made an impressive start to his chasing career with a facile win at Navan, but then missed Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting. The leading Arkle fancy is expected, however, to return to the track at the Dublin Racing Festival in just over week, as he looks to land his first Grade 1 over fences. His owner told the Press Association: “All roads are leading to the Dublin Racing Festival at the moment. “Patrick (Mullins) has said he rode Kopek Des Bordes at the Curragh yesterday and he gave him a very good feeling. He’s doing everything that is asked of him and should make the Dublin Racing Festival.” (At The Races)
Constitution Hill school brilliantly over hurdles
Nicky Henderson has announced in his Unibet column that Constitution Hill is schooling brilliantly at the moment, but he’s still set to give him a spin on the Flat at Southwell in the lead-up to the Champion Hurdle. Henderson said: “We’ve got to be terribly happy with the way the schooling and everything has gone. The best scenario I can find at Cheltenham is that is we get a very low sun in the Champion Hurdle… and a bit of frost down the back straight… if there were no hurdles it would be quite tempting!”But at the moment we have this issue and there’s no getting away from it. “It’s not that I need to get a race into him, I just think it’s going to be good for him to go to the races and have a nice time. A mile and a half around Southwell is a very different ball game to going two miles around Cheltenham, but let’s see how it goes. Then we’ll make a few decisions. (Sporting Life)
Rocking Man set for River Don at Doncaster this Saturday
Rocking Man, who cruised to an emphatic three-length win in a Chepstow maiden hurdle is set to head to Doncaster on Saturday for the Grade 2 River Don Novices’ Hurdle. The Sam Thomas-trained novice hurdler was entered for both the Turners Novices’ Hurdle and Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, and he’s expected to book his place there with a big run on Town Moor this weekend. (Tom Abbott – Head Of News – Sky Sports Racing)