888Sport Grimthorpe Chase |
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| Handicap, Doncaster 15:35 £55,000 added, 5yo plus, 3m 2f 1y, Class 2  |
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| Saturday 29th February 2020 | |
1 Captain Chaos 9/2
2 Worthy Farm 9/4F
3 Yalltari 5/1
7 ran NR: Boldmere , Chidswell, Definitly Red, Saint Xavier
Distances: 54l, 38l Time: 7m 7.90s (slow by 43.90s)
💪Captain Chaos grinds his rivals into submission to win the 888 Sport Grimthorpe Handicap Chase!pic.twitter.com/I7Ahj5K0c4
— Great British Racing (@GBRacing) February 29, 2020
Placed in a host of big staying races, Dan Skelton’s Captain Chaos landed a deserved success as he came home unchallenged to score by 54 lengths from runner-up Worthy Farm.
Captain Chaos had put up a sterling effort when second to leading Grand National fancy Kimberlite Candy in the Classic Chase at Warwick seven weeks ago.
And he backed that up with an impressive performance, even though the race had been decimated to just seven runners, mainly due to the testing conditions.
Pulling further and further away in the straight, he was eased down on the run-in by Harry Skelton.
Worthy Farm, the 9-4 favourite, was second, with Yalltari the only other finisher, 38 lengths away.
The winning trainer said: “He’s been second in so many big races. He put it all out there at Warwick, but he’s been second in two Rehearsals, second in a Rowland Meyrick and has been a real star for us without quite having his big day. He’s got it today.
“Fair play to Mike and Eileen (Newbould, owner). They were mad keen to run here. To win a nice staying handicap is great for the horse as well and he’s come back in as bright as he went out.
“As horses get older they perform better and are more consistent. I couldn’t be happier for the horse really. That ground is hard work.
“I’ve said to Mike the one race I have got an eye on is the last big chase of the season, the bet365 (Gold Cup) at Sandown.
“I think the ground might be too quick for the Scottish National, but if he wasn’t sparkling I wouldn’t run him again.”
The winning rider said: “I’m delighted for the horse. He’s deserved that really. He’s knocked on the door in big races and I think he bumped into a proper National horse at Warwick. He’s a proper contender.
“You can see him there after the race. He’s bright-eyed and has got his ears pricked. He’s got a lot left.”
Tom Scudamore had a lucky escape when knocked off his mount Cesar Et Rosalie by a loose horse as he was about to pull up.
He said: “It was very interesting what happened. My horse was tired so I pulled him up.
“Luckily for me I remembered when dad (Peter Scudamore) was a young jockey he broke his leg when a loose horse galloped into the side of him.
“He said to me to pull up straight and I did. If I’d been sideways I’d have got properly poleaxed. It was one of those things. There’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to be aware.”
888Sport Grimthorpe Chase (Handicap)
7 ran
Going: Heavy
1 Captain Chaos 9 10-13 Dan Skelton Bridget Andrews 9/2
2 54 Worthy Farm 7 11-2 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 5/4F
3 38 Yalltari 9 11-9 Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch 5/1
BD Ascot De Bruyere 10 10-6 James Ewart Danny McMenamin 12/1
FELL Aaron Lad 9 11-1 Dr Richard Newland Charlie Hammond 9/1
PU Cesar Et Rosalie 8 10-1 Neil Mulholland Tom Scudamore 5/1
PU Fortified Bay 8 10-11 Jennie Candlish Aidan Coleman 6/1
NR 1 B-5442 Definitly Red 11 12-7 Brian Ellison NON RUNNER
NR 2 46-712 Saint Xavier 8 12-1 Paul Nicholls NON RUNNER
NR 3 2-P11F Boldmere 7 11-12 Caroline Bailey NON RUNNER
NR 8 1P-P23 Chidswell 11 10-11 Nicky Richards NON RUNNER
