Eva’s Oskar put himself within the Welsh Nationwide reckoning following a hard-fought success within the featured Dahlbury Handicap Chase at a frosty Cheltenham on Friday.
The 8/1 probability, ridden by Alan Johns, jumped for enjoyable within the three-and-a-quarter-mile occasion and had simply sufficient to spare to thwart Spiritofthegames by half a size.
Minimize to 16/1 from 33s by Paddy Energy for the Coral-sponsored contest at Chepstow on December 27, it appears a pure stopping level for Welsh handler Tim Vaughan.
Vaughan stated: “He has been tremendous constant this 12 months. The one concern was the bottom. Not that he cannot deal with good floor, it’s simply [softer] slows everybody else down.
“He caught on doggedly, so I am delighted. It’s good for the horse, good for Alan, good for me, good for the house owners – who’re pretty folks – and it’s nice for everybody.
“He’s within the Welsh Nationwide and it’s undoubtedly a thought. Why not? If it got here up comfortable, we might undoubtedly take a look at it. The view was if he did not come right here and win, he wasn’t going to win a Welsh Nationwide. That’s the rationale we had.”
Nevertheless, Newcastle and Aintree are additionally within the ideas. He added: “Clearly he must take one other step ahead, however an extended journey and softer floor would put extra issues in our favour.
“We’ll see, however in my head the Eider can be the race for him. It’s just a bit little bit of a decrease grade than the Welsh Nationwide, and probably a Grand Nationwide can be a beautiful dream.”
Scottish Nationwide on Skelton’s radar for Hidden Heroics
Hidden Heroics impressed beneath Harry Skelton to win by a transparent margin
The Scottish Grand Nationwide was on Dan Skelton’s thoughts after Hidden Heroics (10/11 favorite) took the Cheltenham & South-West Racing Membership Novices’ Restricted Handicap Chase in a canter within the palms of Harry Skelton.
Dan Skelton stated: “He jumped properly, a little bit bit out to his proper. I ran him at Aintree at the beginning of the season and dropped him in and he ran like a hippo with a hernia – he was terrible.
“So we stated we would go an make the working over fences now and he is two from two and hasn’t come off the bridle twice. He has not competed within the deepest races of all time however he has executed what’s required of him and he has had a transparent spherical round Cheltenham which, as a novice, isn’t the simplest activity on the planet. So, we’re very proud of him.
“We hold going as we’re, discover some novice handicaps and we’re not going to step up dramatically in grade, however come the springtime, we’d take a look at one thing like a Scottish Nationwide.”
Nicky Henderson paid tribute to jockey Nico De Boinville’s timing as he made wise fractions for a front-running success on Attacca (5/1) within the British EBF Nationwide Hunt Novices’ Hurdle.
Attacca (proper) beat Grasp Chewy to make it two out of two over hurdles
Henderson stated: “He was very slick. Nico’s clocking was good. The horse does soar, does not he?
“I believe he does need one other half a mile, however that’s the reason we set these fractions and he set them properly, too. I’d assume we are going to step him as much as two and a half and trip a standard race subsequent.
“The Sidney Banks can be a beautiful race for him. We’ll see what occurs over the New 12 months. He actually loved that and so did I.”
On a bitingly-cold afternoon, David Bridgwater satirically got here off the chilly listing when Dame Du Soir was delivered with a perfectly-timed run by Lily Pinchin to win the CF Roberts Electrical & Mechanical Providers Mares’ Handicap Chase by a head.
Punctuation made it 4 in a row since becoming a member of Fergal O’Brien as he defied a 6lb rise to take the Catesby Estates Handicap Hurdle by three and three-quarter lengths within the palms of Paddy Brennan.
On the eve of his 72nd birthday, Henderson celebrated a double on the cardboard as Captain Morgs completed stuffed with working to win the Citipost Handicap Hurdle forward of Brazos and Annual Invictus.
James Bowen is all motion as Captain Morgs wins at Cheltenham for Nicky Henderson