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Weblog: View from the team behind the official ratings
Great Endeavour: Paddy Power winner would be well in for Hennessy
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)Endeavour shines at great Open meeting
LAST weekend saw the first of the jumps season's flagship meetings at Cheltenham and it certainly didn't disappoint. The Paddy Power Gold Cup was, as ever, the highlight and Great Endeavour's popular success predictably leads this week's blog. There was some high-quality action amongst the novice hurdlers too, on which Dave Dickinson gives his view.
GREAT'S ENDEAVOUR
The Paddy Power Gold Cup has an illustrious roll of honour and Great Endeavour added his name to a list that includes Imperial Commander, Exotic Dancer and Our Vic, with an impressive victory on Saturday, writes Mark Olley.
Top-weight Poquelin's rating of 170 ensured that around forty per cent of the field had to run from out of the handicap, but Great Endeavour was not one of those and he confirmed his liking for Cheltenham. Last season he could manage only sixth, from a mark of 142, but this time around he demolished a competitivefield from a figure of 147.
Due to the ease of victory, I allowed 9lb for the seven-length winning margin and that takes Great Endeavour to a career high rating of 157. He has few miles on the clock, this being only his ninth chase start, and he'll look well in should he take his chance in the Hennessy under a 4lb penalty.
Martin Pipe won this race eight times and son David was notably moved to register the stable's first success since he took over the licence.
Quantitativeeasing and Divers, who fought out the finish to the Centenary Novices' Handicap at the Festival, filled the minor places and maintained the good record that second- season chasers have in this race. Quantitativeeasing moves up 1lb to a new mark of 145, while Divers, who raced from 5lb out of the weights, is now on 142.
Wishfull Thinking was backed into favouritism, but probably did too much out in front and didn't jump in the spectacular style that was a trademark for much of last season. Philip Hobbs reported afterwards that he thought he would benefit from the race.
NOVICES START TO SHINE
Steps To Freedom's win in the Grade 2 novice hurdle on day one of the Open Meeting came in the equivalent race that Cue Card had taken 12 months earlier and in far more eyecatching style, writes Dave Dickinson. The times of the two races are almost identical but Cue Card's was on officially slower ground.
The first two home on Friday both boast some quality Flat form in the past and rating them through Ohio Gold and Absolutlyfantastic gives them figures of 147 and 142 respectively, setting a decent but not insurmountable standards for later novice events.
French import Hinterland won Saturday's Grade 2 JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial in some style and, assessed through Jackies Solitaire, Secret Edge and Bradbury, goes to the top of the current juvenile tree with a tentative figure in the low 140's. Promising as he was, he did not string his rivals out in the same manner his stable-companionSam Winner had in the race a year earlier and his time was over a second slower on officially identical ground.
KNOXVILLE
Last week I commented on a fast improving Paul Nicholls-trained gelding in King of The Night, and this week another Ditcheat inmate took a big leap in the ratings in the shape of the ex-Howard Johnson-trained The Knoxs.
Now successful in five of his seven completed starts, The Knoxs put behind him some dodgy jumping over fences for his former stable (he still managed to win two of his four starts in novice chases last season) and reportedly some shoddy schooling over the larger obstacles at his new yard switched back to hurdles.
Despite his lack over prowess over fences, he possesses an awful amount of ability and justified short odds from a mark of 132 in the latest Pertemps qualifier at Exeter last Wednesday in impressive fashion.
Tanking along from the outset, The Knoxs came through to lead before the home straight and, despite jumping less than fluently, had only to be nudged along to pull around five lengths clear of stable-companion Five Dream, the pair nearly thirty lengths clear of the rest.
The winning distance didn't do justice to the superiority of the performance, and for now, he has been raised 18lb to 150. Goodness knows what he will be capable of if and when he learns to jump with acumen!
This blog appears courtesy of britishhorseracing.com
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