Ben Case to unleash Lanzarote star Cobblers Dream over fences

Lanzarote Hurdle winner Cobblers Dream will go novice chasing this season with trainer Ben Case earmarking Chepstow’s big jumps meeting next month as a potential starting point.

The six-year-old landed Kempton’s £100,000 Listed prize in January before finding only Banbridge too good in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle.

That denied Case and owner Lady Jane Grosvenor a second Cheltenham Festival winner following Croco Bay’s 66-1 Grand Annual triumph in 2019.

After winning a Cork bumper for Sean Aherne, Cobblers Dream won three times last term for Case, helping the trainer reach prize-money of £175,068, his second best in a season since taking out a licence in 1999.

"Cobblers Dream had a really good season last year," Case said as he addressed more than 150 owners at his open day. "He won well at Warwick and Doncaster and, after he won at Doncaster, the sponsors of the Lanzarote decided to put the prize-money up to £100,000, so I thought that would suit him.

"Although he was a novice, he jumped like a handicapper and he won that well.

"He then went to Cheltenham for the Martin Pipe and ran an absolute screamer to be just beaten by Joseph O’Brien’s Banbridge, which was frustrating. It would have been quite nice to have won as we would have been the only British-trained horse winning on the day, but we gave it our best shot."

The Listed Robert Mottram Memorial Trophy at Chepstow's two-day meeting next month is the target for the son of Yeats, who has been schooling well over fences.

Case said: "He will go novice chasing and if we can get a school into him on grass I’m hoping he’ll run at Chepstow in October.

"There’s a Listed novice chase over 2m3f and I’d like to start him there. We’re very much looking forward to going over fences."

Ben Case: enjoyed the second-most lucrative season of his 23-year training career in 2021-22Credit: Edward Whitaker

Also set to go over fences is the consistent mare Gazette Bourgeoise, who struck at Stratford and Hereford last season.

"She was a bit unlucky not to pick up black type," said Case. "I think she should have been third at Doncaster and again at Cheltenham but things didn’t quite go her way. She’s a really hardy, likeable mare and I would think the best is still to come.

"She’ll go novice chasing and I’d be disappointed if she doesn’t pick up one of those nice mares’ prizes."

Felton Bellevue also won twice last season and will be targeted at regional nationals, while The Golden Rebel could get a spin over the Grand National fences in the Grand Sefton at Aintree on November 5.

Case will use Harry Bannister, Jack Quinlan, Bryan Carver, Lily Pinchin and his amateur rider son Charlie – who has returned from a stint in New Zealand – as his jockeys throughout the season.

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