Betfred Peterborough Chase |
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| Grade 2, Huntingdon 14:00 £65,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 3f 189y, Class 1  |
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| Sunday 4th December 2016 | |
1 Josses Hill 7/4F
2 Tea For Two 6/1
3 More Of That 3/1
NR: Art Mauresque (FR), Ratify
5 ran Distances: 6l, 3¾l, 2¼l
TIME 4m 50.00s (slow by 2.00s)
Outstanding display from Josses Hill
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Although jumping big at the first two fences in the Grade Two contest, Josses Hill underlined the promise he has always had in his armoury but had yet to translate from hurdles to fences, to give his trainer Nicky Henderson a fifth winner in the race.
Despite being joined by former Champion Chase winner Dodging Bullets at the penultimate fence the market leader found an extra gear when popped the question by Noel Fehily.
Bounding over the last the Alan Spence-owned gelding continued to press on up the run-in to cross the line six lengths clear of Tea For Two.
Henderson said: "That was excellent. He is getting it together again. He has won two of those introductory chases at Kempton and they really set him up.
"Everything was in his favour. Two and a half miles is his trip, good ground is crucial and right handed probably helps.
"It would be quite interesting to try him over further and see what he gets. Where I do that, I don't know. We will try to get a little bit further and see how much we can edge on with the trip.
"He is not in the King George, so no, he won't go for that. You need to stay in that.
"That's the obvious race (Ascot Chase), but ground is going to be an issue. He is on the up again."
Sky Bet reacted by making Josses Hill a 14/1 chance (from 25/1) for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham in March and the firm's representative Michael Shinners said: "Josses Hill has been called some names in the past and his fencing technique isn't for everyone, but it was good to see him put it all together.
"He was actually really impressive in the end and although a well-held eighth behind Vautour in last season's Ryanair, that's his only defeat since falling at Sandown in December 2015 and he looks very capable of improving on that effort in March.
Betfred Peterborough Chase
£65,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 3f 189y, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good to Soft
| Pos | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Josses Hill (IRE) 7/4f | N D Fehily 11-6 |
N J Henderson | 8 | |
| 2nd | 6 | Tea For Two 6/1 | Lizzie Kelly 11-5 |
Nick Williams | 7 |
| 3rd | 3¾ | More Of That (IRE) 3/1 | Aidan Coleman 11-3 |
Jonjo O'Neill | 8 |
| 4th | 2¼ | Dodging Bullets 4/1 | Sam Twiston-Davies 11-0 |
P F Nicholls | 8 |
| 5th | 4½ | Volnay De Thaix (FR) 6/1 | A Tinkler 11-0 |
N J Henderson | 7 |
| NR | Art Mauresque (FR) 11/2 | Nick Scholfield 11-4 |
P F Nicholls | 6 | |
| NR | Ratify 50/1 | R T Dunne 11-0 |
D Burchell | 12 |
