Colin Parker Memorial Chase |
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| Listed, Carlisle 15:50 £27,500 added, 4yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1  |
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| Sunday 30th October 2016 | |
1 Seeyouatmidnight 15/8
2 Bristol De Mai 2/5F
NR: More Of That (IRE)
2 ran Distances: 12l
TIME 5m 4.80s (slow by 7.80s)
Seeyouatmidnight sees off Bristol De Mai
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Seeyouatmidnight looks set for bigger and better things after putting up a fine display of jumping to make all and outpoint sole rival Bristol De Mai at Carlisle.
The Sandy Thomson-trained eight-year-old negotiated all 16 obstacles with aplomb, while Bristol De Mai made a few errors and collided with his rival when trying to make inroads three out.
Once the winner got away from the last, Daryl Jacob accepted defeat on the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained five-year-old, as Brian Hughes steered the 15/8 chance to a clear-cut victory by 12 lengths.
The race had been reduced to a match after More Of That was a withdrawal earlier in the afternoon because of the ground.
Bookmakers reacted by cutting Seeyouatmidnight for the Hennessy Gold Cup, but Thomson said: "Brian says we shouldn't even be thinking about handicaps, he thinks he has improved since last season.
"Before today, we were thinking about either the Rehearsal or the Hennessy, but that might be shelved now.
"His jumping has always been good and we've seen a few times this weekend that when you can get an easy lead in front it puts other horses under pressure."
Asked about a tilt at the Betfair Chase, Thomson said: "Who knows? It might come a bit soon, but we will see. I haven't really had chance to have a good look at the programme book.
"He takes a lot of work and is a hard horse to get fit, but he is the horse of a lifetime for us."
Hughes added: "It was like driving a Ferrari round there. He never touched a twig, and never missed a beat.
"I couldn't believe how well he picked up from the back of the ditch, I've never come up the hill as fast as that. Ever."
Bristol De Mai's winner Nigel Twiston-Davies admitted: "We let the other horse have his own way and maybe we should have taken him on, but it is easy after the race.
"I'm not sure where we'll go now, the winner is obviously very good."
Seeyouatmidnight remains a 25/1 chance for next year's Grand National with Sky Bet.
Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase
£27,500 added, 4yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1
2 ran
Going: Good to Soft (Good in places)
| Pos | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Seeyouatmidnight 15/8 | B Hughes 11-12 |
A M Thomson | 8 | |
| 2nd | 12 | Bristol De Mai (FR) 2/5f | D A Jacob 11-12 |
N A Twiston-Davies | 5 |
| NR | More Of That (IRE) Evs | B J Geraghty 11-8 |
Jonjo O'Neill | 8 |
