Altior and Cyrname declared for epic Ascot clash - Paul Kealy gives his verdict

The race of the season so far is on after jumping's two top-rated rivals Altior and Cyrname were declared for Saturday's Christy 1965 Chase at Ascot.

Only the Dan Skelton-trained Solomon Grey takes on the 176 and 175-rated stars in the three-runner Grade 2 event after Top Notch and Keeper Hill were taken out of the race. The eagerly anticipated event is live on ITV and Sky Sports Racing at 2.05.

Nicky Henderson's outstanding Altior is unbeaten in 19 starts over obstacles, including four victories at the Cheltenham Festival, but Saturday's race poses a completely new test.

He will be tested over the longest trip he has faced – two miles five furlongs – and Cyrname goes to Ascot 1lb ahead on ratings.

The Paul Nicholls-trained seven-year-old achieved a rating of 176 following his 17-length victory in the Ascot Chase here in February. Although ahead on ratings, bookmakers make the mount of Nico de Boinville a top-priced 8-11 chance.

What they said this week

Nico De Boinville, rider of Altior, said: "He seems in really good form and everyone seems to be hyping it up but why not when you've got two nice horses like that. I thought at the back end of last year that what we're doing [stepping up] is the right decision. He's been working very well and showing a load of speed at home, so we'll see.

"The weekend is just a stepping stone to seeing where we go next in the season. If he gets beat, he gets beat and we revert back but he's in great shape. I'm going out there to ride a nice normal race and keep it very simple."

Cyrname's rider Harry Cobden told the Racing Post on Wednesday: "I hope he beats Altior. But it's a hard race. Altior is stepping up in trip and they [his connections] are fairly confident he'll improve for it. I schooled Cyrname the other day and he was in great form. I don't know if he's improved but he felt brilliant.

"If he improves off [a mark of] 176 then God knows what he is, but he's in good form at home and everyone is happy with him. He's done plenty of work and is ready for it. We're fairly confident, but we are taking on Altior."

Expert view - Paul Kealy in the Racing Post Weekender

There are only three runners, but it was only ever about the big two, with Altior going for his 20th straight win over obstacles but trying a new trip and Cyrname needing to prove he is as good as he looked in his two victories over course and distance last season.

The market and popular opinion make Altior favourite, but I think he has an awful lot more to prove than Cyrname and I’m very much in the Paul Nicholls camp when it comes to Saturday.

Horses improve and that’s what Cyrname did last season. He might well turn out to be a one-track pony, but that one track is Ascot and, whichever way you look at it, in his final two runs last term he showed considerably better form than Altior did in his.

Connections have said he needs further than two miles now, but that’s not far away from an admission that he’s not quite as he good as he was over two miles and, by extension, it’s not far off an admission that he’s simply not as good as he was.

The form of some runners from the Nicholls stable has not been all you would expect at this time of year, but Cyrname still has less to prove than Altior on Saturday.

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