'He'll improve tons' - relief for Charlie Longsdon as Rare Edition makes winning chase debut

Rare Edition came out on top in a thrilling battle with Rambo T to make a successful chase debut. 

A five-time winner in bumpers and hurdles, the 2-1 shot jumped smartly under David Bass. He took up the running from Uncle Bert at the fifth fence before battling gallantly to defeat the held-up Rambo T by a short-head.

"I'm relieved more than anything else," trainer Charlie Longsdon said. "They were three very good horses and it's as simple as that. They were sensible as the ground was probably quicker than ideal for all three of them.

"He'll improve tons for slightly slower ground and a step up in trip. It looked like he got a little bit lonely and it was a thrilling finish, but thankfully we ended up on the right side of it. The plan was to go over fences but he was sick at the end of last year and all of ours were wrong in March and April."

On Bass, who is now riding freelance after leaving his role with Kim Bailey, he added: "He asked to come in six weeks ago about one day a week. I want to try and get some continuity for the horse and Bassy should be available now."

Longsdon has the Pendil Novices' Chase at Kempton in the spring as a long-time aim for Rare Edition, who contested Grade 1 events at the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals in 2023.

The victory gave the trainer's team a boost following the sad loss of Cheltenham winner Hector Javilex at Warwick on Thursday.

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