'He's earned his place' - Any News tees up Coral Gold Cup bid with last-gasp victory

Any News was given what looked an ambitious entry for the Coral Gold Cup on Tuesday morning, but he later proved to his owners the £250,000 prize could be a legitimate target after surging late to land the Paul Ferguson-sponsored Best Mate Chase.

Under an inspired Richie McLernon ride, the 22-1 shot came home strongest in the final strides to hold off Manothepeople by a neck and record his third win over fences. It came six days on from a Wetherby walkover and was his best performance yet, having shown huge promise in his early days.

Coral trimmed the eight-year-old to 33-1 (from 50) for the Newbury feature on December 2 and this performance in a race with a history of being a stepping stone to bigger things, with Kitty's Light and Court By Surprise among recent winners, has persuaded connections to have a shot at the big race.

Peter Cartwright, husband of owner Jane, said. "We're thrilled to see him win, but this was a bit harder than Wetherby.

"We always knew he had a good race in him on good ground. He's been running and doing okay in some nice races, and he jumps well, but Richie gave him a great ride. 

"If you look at his early form he looked really smart and he's run well at Aintree and Cheltenham, so it's not the biggest surprise he's gone on to win like that. Hopefully he can have a good season now.

"We weren't sure about Newbury, but we're thinking we have to give it a go now – he's earned his place."

Off the mark

Jane Williams recorded her first winner of the season after Kel Du Large powered clear of a field of well-touted prospects in the 1m5f bumper.

He is among a top team of three-year-olds for Williams and gave the yard a boost with their 13th runner of the campaign. 

The trainer said of the 16-1 winner: "We like him at home and we've got a great bunch of juvenile hurdlers and three-year-olds, so it wasn't the biggest shock, but I'm surprised by how well he pulled away. I'm not sure what we'll do with him next, but he won it really well. 

"It's great to get off the mark. We'd had plenty of seconds or thirds, but I dare say we could have done with a winner, so it's good."

Fish reels them in

There was drama in the 2m2½f maiden hurdle after odds-on favourite Go To War unseated Paddy Brennan as he mounted a challenge, but Big Fish was able to make a winning start over obstacles for Emma Lavelle.

The five-year-old stayed on strongly to build on the promise of his neck defeat in a bumper in November to gallop clear by five lengths.

Victory continues Lavelle's excellent start to the season, with a sixth winner from 16 runners in the last two weeks.

Memorable day

Oliver Boyden enjoyed his first winner when he rode Wolfspear to victory in the 2m2½f amateurs' handicap hurdle as the Olly Murphy-trained runner defied a 493-day absence from the track.

The jumps season is coming! Pick up your copy of The Big Jump Off, out now and packed with everything you need for the 2023-24 National Hunt season. Our brilliant 72-page supplement, including ante-post tips, guest columnists, top trainer profiles, divisional analysis and much more, is available to order from the Racing Post shop here.