Jamie Snowden: Ga Law unscathed from Doncaster fall and could be set for Graded company

Jamie Snowden is taking some positives away from Ga Law’s dramatic late fall in Doncaster’s Sky Bet Chase on Saturday with the Lambourn trainer reporting his Paddy Power Gold Cup winner to have come out of his tumble largely unscathed.

Sent off the 3-1 joint-favourite along with Tea For Free, Ga Law looked to relish his first attempt at three miles and jumped the final fence upsides the eventual winner Cooper’s Cross before giving Jonathan Burke no chance with a crashing fall.

“Ga Law’s got a couple of nasty cuts and scrapes on him so we’ve just got to get those right and then move forward,” Snowden said on Wednesday as he reflected on a near miss in the £100,000 handicap.

“It was a great shame because who knows what would have happened but he certainly would have been first or second. He proved he stayed that trip well so two positives to take out of the race are he almost defied a mark of 150 and he stays well so we’ll have to see where we go from here.”

Ga Law is entered in the Ryanair Chase and the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup but there are no firm plans for the seven-year-old, who returned from a 603-day injury layoff when third in the Old Roan Chase in October before going on to win the Paddy Power three weeks later.

Snowden said: “The handicapper’s put him up 2lb so he’s off 152 now which will be harder in handicaps. We’ll see whether we can find a nice race to maybe step him up into Graded company and hopefully see him progress from there.”

Charlie Longsdon: trainer of Tea For Free

Tea For Free came to grief a fence before his fellow market leader Ga Law’s fall and trainer Charlie Longsdon has ruled his progressive chaser out for the rest of the season.

The eight-year-old was prominent in the betting at 16-1 for the Ultima Handicap Chase on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.

Longsdon said: “He’s ruptured some ligament between his hock and his stifle. It’ll take a bit of time and it’ll be next season before he’s back on the go. He’ll have a few months of box rest, then he can have the summer out and hopefully be back for next season.”

Tea For Free’s regular rider Lilly Pinchin broke her collarbone in the fall but unlike her mount, who she won four successive races on prior to Doncaster, the conditional should be back with plenty of time before the festival in March.

Longsdon added: “She tells me two weeks but I can’t quite see it being two weeks. She’s that way inclined, she’s quite mad on a good day!”

Read more . . .

'I hope it's not a bad sign we're the only British handicapper going' 

Should you play or lay Willie Mullins' eight Dublin Racing Festival favourites? 

Members' Club special offer: get exclusive tips and insight FREE for one month 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.