Dave Dawes Silver Cup Handicap Chase |
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| Listed Handicap Chase, Ascot 15:00 £100,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 7f 180y, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 21st December 2019 | |
2 Acting Lass 12/1
3 Jerrysback 5/1
10 ran Distances: ¾l, 2¼l, 6l
Time: 6m 16.26s (slow by 33.26s)
Back to win the same race from 2016, REGAL ENCORE battles home to land the Listed Silver Cup H. Chase @Ascot for @AJHoneyball.
— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) December 21, 2019
Spring Sale graduate sold from Distillery Stud to Anthony Honeyball pic.twitter.com/EF3kozFAKX
Winner of this race in 2016, Anthony Honeyball’s Regal Encore pulled out all the stops in the stamina-sapping closing stages for Richie McLernon.
Black Corton made a brave effort from the front, but he had tough task under top-weight and it was those rivals towards the bottom of the handicap over three miles who came to the fore.
Acting Lass and Regal Encore (16-1) fought out a terrific finish, with the latter, owned by JP McManus, getting the verdict by three-quarters of a length. Jerrysback, also carrying the McManus colours, was two and a quarter lengths back in third and Black Corton fourth.
Honeyball said: “He is unbelievable. He has won this race twice, so that’s two £100,000 races and he won a £75,000 race, and his CV is cracking. He was second in a Champion Bumper, third in a Ladbrokes Trophy, placed at all the festivals – Punchestown, Cheltenham and Aintree – and he has been the most fantastic horse.
“It took him a while to live up to his billing, having been such a good bumper horse, but that can happen to a lot of them. He had a year where he wasn’t getting anywhere, but we always rated him and were keen to get him going over fences early in his career.
“He is not overly-big and he has run very well here, that’s for sure, and his CV says he has been good in a lot of places as well.
“But that was bonus country – I really didn’t expect that! This was a jackpot, but we could go down the Grand National route for sure. I would not say he would go on soft or heavy ground, but we can’t be too worried about that.
“He is creeping down a few pounds and was on 142 today, and to run in races like the National you have to maintain the level of form to get you in it.
“What a horse, though, when things are right for him, he takes advantage and I’m sure he reads the papers – he sees a hundred-grand race he seems to know what to do.”
Silver Cup Handicap Chase (Listed)
£100,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 7f 180y, Class 1
10 ran
Going: Heavy
1 Regal Encore 11 10-7 Anthony Honeyball Richie McLernon 16/1
2 ¾ Acting Lass 8 10-12 Harry Fry Sean Bowen 12/1
3 2¼ Jerrysback 7 10-8 Philip Hobbs Barry Geraghty 5/1
4 6 Black Corton 8 11-12 Paul Nicholls Bryony Frost 14/1
5 4 Azzerti 7 10-4 Alan King A P Heskin 16/1
6 7 Kildisart 7 11-6 Ben Pauling Nico de Boinville 15/2
7 ¾ Give Me A Copper 9 10-13 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 13/2
8 11 Yalltari 8 10-10 Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch 100/30F
9 3 Crievehill 7 11-6 Nigel Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies 10/1
PU 142-06 Mister Malarky 6 10-13 Colin Tizzard Robbie Power 5/1
