Champion Chase on the cards after Defi Du Seuil eases down at Ascot
Defi Du Seuil, Philip Hobbs’s improving seven-year-old, put in his strongest claim yet for Champion Chase honours when he showed an electric turn of foot to beat Un De Sceaux by an eased-down 2¾ lengths in the Matchbook Clarence House Chase at Ascot.
If Un De Sceaux did not quite fire as jockey Paul Townend maintained, it might mark the winner’s performance down a little but if that was anything near the real Un De Sceaux, in his perfect conditions, then the eye told a different story.
For most of the journey Un De Sceaux led, jumping from fence to fence, with Defi du Seuil sitting on his tail and when they turned for home, the Irish challenger a length up, it looked momentarily like we were in for a Grundy v Bustino duel up the straight.
But Defi Du Seuil jumped past his rival at the second last and his momentum soon carried him five lengths clear. He was athletically spring-heeled at the last and on this occasion 2¾ lengths flattered the ever-popular Un De Sceaux because the winner was eased down.
If Hobbs was looking for guidance for which race to run the winner in at Cheltenham, this race screamed Champion Chase. “It certainly makes it a bit more likely,” said the trainer who also has the Ryanair Chase option. “I couldn’t imagine he’d win that easily. It wasn’t the plan to hit the front that far out, it was to hit the front after the last but he didn’t have much option.”
Barry Geraghty, the winning rider, said: “He flew the second last and landed running. I don’t think he has a problem hitting the front, it’s not an issue, it’s just that he was caught by Lostintranslation that once last season. Philip felt he had improved since Sandown and he put it to bed very quickly. I thought he’d learn from Sandown and he probably has.”
Mullins thought perhaps Un De Sceaux should have gone faster but added: “I think the winner has improved hugely. But I’m disappointed.”
Hobbs has already won a Champion Chase with Flagship Uberalles. Gary Moore also won it with Sire Du Grugy and the trainer’s unbeaten juvenile hurdler, Goshen, continued to impress when winning the IJF Ambassador Programme Hurdle by 11 lengths on a tight rein.
This time, his third start, he settled much better than previously and Moore was pleased that he was also calmer in the preliminaries. “We haven’t learned a great deal,” he said. “I left a bit to work on and Jamie [Moore]said he took a bit of a blow turning in but the thing which pleased me most was that he was dry as a bone [not sweating] when we let him go.
“He’s won on good to soft at Brighton which is good anywhere else so he doesn’t have to have soft ground. He’s not having hard races so we’re not killing him. If I think he needs another run it would be in either the Victor Ludorum or the Adonis.”
Watching Haydock from Ascot left Nicky Henderson scratching his head after Pentland Hills, last year’s Triumph Hurdle winner, cruised to the front in the New One Unibet Hurdle only to be chinned on the line by Ballyandy who was completing a good day’s work for Nigel Twiston-Davies.
“He’s still a bit keen and fresh,” said Henderson. “He takes an awful lot of work and is still as big as a bull. It looked like the job was done properly – it all looked fairly painless – and all of a sudden he got mugged.
“Does he pull himself up? I don’t see why he should. He travelled like the best horse in the race but didn’t win it. He needed to be winning that to be honest with you.”
