Harry Cobden guided Bravemansgame to a dominant victory at Kempton; he has now been cut into 3/1 for the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham; earlier on the card, Broomfield Burg won the novice hurdle and Jacamar bagged the novice handicap chase
Sunday 26 December 2021 16:12, UK
Bravemansgame proved to be the novice king at Christmas as he proved too strong for Ahoy Senor in landing the Kauto Star Novices' Chase at Kempton.
In a race where jumping proved pivotal, Bravemansgame had the edge in jumping accuracy and speed over his main market rival, with Harry Cobden nudging his mount clear for an impressive success for Ditcheat handler Paul Nicholls.
Ahoy Senor made crucial mistakes in the final straight, eventually finishing over seven lengths back for the Grand National-winning team of Derek Fox and Lucinda Russell.
Nicholls hailed the performance of Bravemansgame - who he believes compares favourably with his former staying star Denman at this point of their careers.
He said: "He's a mighty horse. He travelled and jumped and stayed on strong - he's got it all.
"It's the first time he's won over three miles. I was worried the ground might be a bit on the slow side, but those good horses keep galloping.
"Last year he was half the horse he is now and he's improving all the time physically. I'd like to think he will continue to improve as he gets stronger.
"I was laughed at when I compared him to Denman, but there is nothing between what he and Denman had done at this stage of their careers. Obviously Denman went on to be a proper Gold Cup horse and if this horse ends up achieving half of what Denman did, we'll be delighted.
Bravemansgame was cut by some bookmakers for the Festival Novices' Chase at Cheltenham in March - but Nicholls is far from set on a trip to Prestbury Park.
He added: "After he won at Newton Abbot someone asked me 'what's your target' and I said 'next year's King George' and that will be my target next year.
"I haven't really got a plan. I always wanted to give him two runs and then come here and I'll talk it through with the guys.
"I don't want to give him too many hard races where he's got an impossible task. I know some of the owners are very keen to go to Cheltenham, but to me, if we missed Cheltenham and won at Aintree and won next year's King George, that would be doing the job properly.
"He's a very special horse, obviously. (But) if you want them at their best when they're nine years old you've just got to give them time to mature."
Russell was far from disheartened in defeat and expects Ahoy Senor to progress again for the experience.
She said: "I'm delighted with him. He's got a couple of little things he could brush up with his jumping, but he's an immense horse and the winner is obviously an outstanding horse as well.
"It's exciting to have a horse at this level - it's just brilliant. I think he's lost nothing in defeat.
"I don't know where we'll go next. We'll speak to the owners and have a think."
Epatante's class shone through as Nicky Henderson's former Champion Hurdle winner regained her Christmas Hurdle crown at Kempton.
The seven-year-old mare, who won the race in 2019, was turned over at odds of 1/5 in the Boxing Day contest last year, beaten by Evan Williams' Silver Streak.
Returning to Kempton after dead-heating with Not So Sleepy in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle, Epatante was sent off at 4/5 on this occasion and took it up to Not So Sleepy once more, with her slick jumping proving far superior over the entire two-mile trip.
With Not So Sleepy unable to keep his challenge going and fading quickly out of contention, Epatante was left in front as the five-runner field turned for home.
Glory And Fortune, a 28/1 outsider, produced a career-best performance to come through for second, just over two lengths behind the winner, with former Betfair Hurdle champion Soaring Glory in third.
Broomfield Burg (1/3) got favourite backers off to the perfect start with a bloodless success in the Play Ladbrokes 5-A-Side On Football Novices' Hurdle, cruising to victory under Nico De Boinville for Nicky Henderson and JP McManus.
He travelled sweetly in behind before being pulled out and taking up the running between the final two hurdles to sprint clear and land the short odds, ahead of Black Poppy for Kerry Lee back in second.
That victory prompted Sky Bet to cut the five-year-old into 25/1 from 40/1 for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Henderson completed a treble on the day as Marie's Rock took the final race at Kempton, the Ladbrokes We Play Together Handicap Hurdle, running out a stylish winner from Jonjo O'Neill's An Tailliur and Alan King's On To Victory.
The Get Your Ladbrokes 1 Free Bet Today Novices' Limited Handicap Chase was a race of changing complexion, with Jacamar staying on best of all under Danny Mullins to provide Milton Harris with another big-race winner.
Danny Kirwan and Your Darling battled it out early on, with the latter trading as short as 1.08 in running, but couldn't hold off the closers in the soft ground as Jacamar powered home in the final stages.
Mister Coffey was back in second after a round of jumping that included several violent leaps out to his left, with jockey Sean Bowen straightening him up to finish well in the closing stages.
