'He’s the fastest thing I’ve ever had' - speedball Funambule Sivola lands Game Spirit again for Williams

Quick conditions suit the speediest horses and luckily for Venetia Williams she could call on the "the fastest thing" she’s ever trained in Funambule Sivola, who shot clear to claim his second Game Spirit Chase in as many years.

Runner-up in last season’s Champion Chase, Funambule Sivola had been out of sorts since returning from wind surgery and a 239-day break, but despite being the joint-outsider of the field at 7-1 he roared back to form under Charlie Deutsch for a repeat success in the 2m½f Grade 2.

“He’s the fastest thing I’ve ever had – good job my Aston Martin can’t jump – he’s very quick,” Williams said. “It was all speed. The owners asked me what the tactics were and I said you don’t have tactics in a race like this on this type of ground – just go as fast as you can!”

Venetia Williams: praised Charlie Deutsch for a superb rideCredit: Edward Whitaker

Those sentiments were echoed by a delighted Deutsch, who made virtually all on the My Racing Manager Friends-owned eight-year-old to beat Elixir De Nutz by three and a half lengths, with the favourite Greaneteen disappointing back in third.

The jockey, who was praised by Williams for a “superb ride”, said of his mount: "He’s a pocket rocket. To me we were going a good gallop and he jumped for fun. Harry Cobden [on Greaneteen] came to join me and my horse went, ‘You want to go fast, let’s go!’.

“He’s one of the quickest horses I ride so this suits him down to the ground, quick ground and this track. He’s so good to jump on, I love riding him."

Funambule Sivola had not scored since his victory in this race last year and had been beaten by more than 20 lengths and been pulled up in four starts after finishing a distant runner-up to Energumene in the Champion Chase in March.

Williams still has the Cheltenham prize, for which Funambule Sivola was halved in price to 25-1 with Betfair, on her mind despite concerns over whether the stiff two miles at the track stretches her horse’s stamina.

She said: “We’ll probably head straight to the Champion Chase again. At Cheltenham last time he had every chance turning for home and probably, in a truly run at a good gallop, he doesn’t really stay two miles around there. But you’d sort of question that with him being second in the Champion Chase last season. They called that soft ground, but it was just wet – there wasn’t any great depth to it.”

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