Does classy novice Erne River have what it takes to down his older rivals?

bet365 Oaksey Chase (Grade 2) | 2m6½f | 5yo+ | ITV/RTV

High-class novices pitching up in open company is a narrative that seldom plays out nowadays and the presence of one such runner in the bet365 Oaksey Chase provides this year's running with fresh interest.

Connections of Constitution Hill ducked Honeysuckle in next week's Punchestown Champion Hurdle, but excitingly the team involved with Erne River have elected to roll the dice at Sandown against established Grade 2 open-company chasers.

Perhaps a lack of suitable end-of-season options contributed towards his running here, and tackling Mister Fisher, Saint Calvados and Nuts Well is certainly an easier task than Erne River would have encountered against Galopin Des Champs in the final intermediate-trip Grade 1 novice chase of the campaign at Fairyhouse last Sunday.

Erne River was sent off an 11-4 shot for Aintree's version in the Manifesto last time but fell at the tenth when moving quite menacingly on only his third start over fences.

While his jumping remains a concern and deciphering whether he would have beaten Millers Bank at Aintree is impossible, Erne River's talent cannot be disputed and he is worth a shot in this company. He is the only runner with plausible scope to improve.

Mister Fisher was an excellent second in this last season but is unreliable. His form figures this season are P14P but in the fourth-placed effort at Ascot he was beaten 74 lengths.

If replicating the form of his Silviniaco Chase success at Kempton from Eldorado Allen in January, however, he is the one to beat. Small-field contests seem to play to his strengths.

Receiving 6lb from Mister Fisher despite sharing an identical BHA rating of 157 is Saint Calvados, for whom this 2m6½f trip is near optimal.

The pair have met three times this season off level weights and Saint Calvados has finished ahead in two of those. The 6lb swing could tilt things in his favour. Likeable 11-year-old Nuts Well has it all to do under a 6lb penalty, but you can never write off runners from the Ann Hamilton yard.
Analysis by Robbie Wilders

Hamiltons hoping Nuts Well can cap dream season

Ian and Ann Hamilton will make a seven-hour trek south on Friday to end what has been a sensational season for the husband-and-wife team.

The training operation in Northumberland, spearheaded by Ann, has just six horses in training, with only four competing for the majority of the season.

Despite that, the Hamiltons have returned with a remarkable 41 per cent strike-rate with wins in Graded company for Tommy's Oscar and Listed success for Saturday's runner Nuts Well, a long-standing star of the yard who gave the trainer her first Graded win in 2020.

"Ann is on 41 per cent this season, there's nobody else doing that with just four horses, it's incredible," said husband Ian, who also owns the 11-year-old chaser.

"Nuts Well is in good form and we're just hoping the ground isn't too firm for him. He'll have a little chance. He didn't get the three miles in the Betway Bowl last time, it was like the Gold Cup. Two out, you thought he could finish in the placings but he just didn't get home."

The veteran chaser's chances will be boosted by the aid of Brian Hughes, who claimed his 200th winner of the season on Wednesday.

"The jockey isn't too bad," Hamilton joked. "Brian is a friend of ours and has ridden for us since he was a conditional. He lives just down the road. It's going to take just over seven hours for us all to get there – I didn't know that England was as long as this."

What they say

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Mister Fisher
He very nearly won this last year and only just got beaten by Frodon. He's been in good form since and likes the fast ground. He just made one horrible mistake at Aintree that knocked him out of the race, so we just need to eliminate that and he'll be fine.

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Saint Calvados
He ran well last time, Harry [Cobden] got into a little bit of trouble but it was unavoidable. This small field and better ground will suit him nicely and if he runs like he did in the King George he'll go very well and he beat Mister Fisher at Aintree. I'm not concerned about the trip, I'm convinced he'll gallop all day.
Reporting by Catherine Macrae

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