Press Your Luck could be a Showcase star for Gordon at Cheltenham

It was a shame fast ground meant the fields at Chepstow were poor last week. The jumps was my first love in racing and small, uncompetitive fields take away from the spectacle, so hopefully the trend won’t be quite so pronounced as the season gets properly under way.

Novice chases are likely to suffer most if the ground is too fast, and while only three horses turned up for Friday’s opener Press Your Luck struck me as a thoroughly likeable type when making a smooth debut over fences.

Although Chris Gordon’s biggest successes have come over hurdles, the trainer’s horses seem to improve for fences and this was another of his smart novice hurdlers to make a winning chase debut after Aucunrisque’s win at Uttoxeter at the beginning of the month.

Press Your Luck travelled strongly and was always in control, and a host of neat jumps helped him to gain the upper hand over his two rivals.

Gordon won the 2m4f novice handicap chase at Cheltenham’s Showcase meeting with Annual Invictus last year, and this horse looks in a similar mould.

Press Your Luck: made a seamless start to chasing at ChepstowCredit: Edward Whitaker

His gritty mare Presenting A Queen took her unbeaten record to three later on the card and would also be suited by the demands of Cheltenham given how willingly she responds to pressure.

Another to catch the eye was the much-improved David Brace-trained Gats And Co, who put in a bold front-running performance to finish third in the Native River Handicap Chase on Saturday. The former point-to-pointer’s mark went up 33lb after four wins last season, but he might have more to offer as his aggressive racing style puts his rivals under pressure.

The two-day Chepstow meeting signals the proper return of the jumps and the winter chat has gone up a notch recently on Twitter, with one user reminding me of my only ante-post wager for the season, Blazing Khal for the Stayers’ Hurdle at 25-1.

He was a dominant winner of two Grade 2 novice hurdles at Cheltenham before Christmas, and had subsequent Grade 1 winner Gelino Bello and Albert Bartlett fourth Ballygrifincottage behind him when last seen in December.

An injury ruled him out of the rest of the season, and while a novice chase campaign could be on the cards given he is related to prolific mare Blazing Tempo, his price looked a few points too big given his trainer Charles Byrnes won the Stayers’ Hurdle with Solwhit in 2013.

Blazing Khal: my sole ante-post wager for the jumps seasonCredit: Edward Whitaker

Garnering clues for the Cheltenham Festival isn’t my only source of joy throughout the colder months, however, and a glance through my Racing Post tracker has me looking forward to seeing several horses reappearing.

Any number of obscure handicap projects feature, but the unexposed youngsters are bound to make the most appeal so hopefully we can find a few winners among them.

The first worth mentioning is another from the Gordon stable in Alto Alto, who finished his season with a strong-staying third to Saturday’s Silver Trophy winner Knappers Hill at Sandown. The rangy chestnut looks the type to improve for fences and when going further than two miles.

Harry Fry could be in for a strong year and he houses two exciting prospects in Altobelli and Dubrovnik Harry. The former was well backed for an Exeter bumper and won it without coming off the bridle, while the latter shaped like a smart chaser when third in the EBF Final.

Similar comments apply to lightly raced seven-year-old Kilbeg King, who made a striking impression when justifying favouritism on his rules debut at Uttoxeter in March. Connections are reportedly itching to send him chasing, and his trainer Anthony Honeyball has expanded his Dorset-based team and is a growing force.

The silks of the late Trevor Hemmings might not be seen as widely this season, but the unbeaten Iron Bridge could carry them to further victories. By Milan and out of a Bob Back mare, he has a very stout pedigree and could be one to watch in staying handicaps.

Others to mention are the imposing sorts Salt Of The Earth, Lac De Constance and Tarahumara, while Nigel Twiston-Davies looks sure to have plenty of fun with Newbury bumper winner Weveallbeencaught.

Goodbye Baaeed

I am looking forward to bidding goodbye to Baaeed in Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot, where he will face a worthy challenger in Adayar.

It is hard to put my finger on why but I have never felt Baaeed was quite in the same league as Frankel, even after he demolished the Juddmonte International field upped to 1m2½f last time.

Perhaps it’s because he didn’t race at two and was slow to get going at three. We didn’t see him in either the Guineas or Derby, which are two of the generation-defining races, nor at Royal Ascot.

He didn’t run in this month’s Arc, either, which looks wise now given how testing conditions would have been on his first try at a mile and a half, but nevertheless he’s developed into an elite performer.

Hopefully he can add a seventh Group 1 on Saturday, and while another showstopping performance could reduce the gap to Frankel in my mind, it is unlikely to close it completely.

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