Sam Thomas will step unbeaten novice chaser Steel Ally up to Grade 1 company in Saturday’s Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown, using the race as a hard measurement of whether his 33-1 Arkle hope can credibly take on the market leaders at Cheltenham.
The eight-year-old has done everything asked in two starts over fences, but Thomas wants evidence against the best rather than another comfortable day in calmer water. Steel Ally made a polished chasing debut when landing a graduation chase at Carlisle, then went to Ascot and put the Grade 2 Howden Noel Novices’ Chase to bed with ruthless authority, stretching nine lengths clear over 2m3f.
That Ascot performance carried the hallmarks punters latch on to at this time of year: he travelled with purpose, got into a rhythm early, and when the pace lifted he found plenty without Thomas needing to bottom him. Crucially for an Arkle discussion, his fencing has looked a weapon rather than a work in progress — quick to a stride, economical through the air, and able to hold his shape when asked to shorten.
Thomas made clear the Sandown assignment is less about protecting an unbeaten record and more about pinning down the ceiling. The Scilly Isles, typically run at a searching tempo on a track that punishes hesitation at a fence, will tell him whether Steel Ally has the speed to live with two-mile specialists and the resilience to keep doing it when the pressure comes on. The Arkle picture in March revolves around the likes of Lulamba and Kopek Des Bordes, and Thomas wants to know if Steel Ally can force his way into that conversation rather than merely sit on the fringes.
“He’s always been a natural at jumping and has a lot of ability,” Thomas told the Racing Post, with Sandown now the proving ground that decides whether the Arkle stays a plan or becomes a punt.