Desert Orchid Chase |
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| Grade 2, Kempton Park 4yo plus, 2m, Class 1 |
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| Friday 27th December 2013 | |
1 Sire De Grugy 4/1
2 Oiseau De Nuit 33/1
3 Astracad 50/1
6 ran Distances: 4l, 26l, 10l
TIME 4m 6.50s (slow by 16.50s)
Sprinter Sacre was sensationally pulled up on his comeback in the williamhill.com Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton won by Sire De Grugy.
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Trainer Nicky Henderson had been forced to skip the Tingle Creek with the highest-rated jumps horse in training due to an unsatisfactory scope and this Grade Two contest was suddenly the focus of his attentions.
Slightly awkward at a couple of his early fences, Barry Geraghty had him in third place but pulled him up with just under a mile to run, remaining on board as he trotted back, while at the business end Sire De Grugy was not that hard pressed to beat Oiseau De Nuit by four lengths.
The eventual winner was sent off at 4-1 to reward Gary Moore for his decision to take on Sprinter Sacre with his Tingle Creek Chase winner.
Henderson said: "They (the vets) listened to him when he pulled him up and when he came back in, and there is an irregular heartbeat there.
"He landed on the back of the fence and Barry said he was empty. He was looking great, he jumped the first very well and his work was unbelievable
"He is going to have to go for dope tests and then they will scope him and hopefully we will know more later."
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Moore said: "I'm over the moon for the horse and the owners, and especially Jamie (Moore, son and rider), but it's just a shame he had to do it that way, but it's not his fault the other horse has gone wrong. I can enjoy it, but it has probably taken a bit of gloss off.
"That was a messy race, they went off fast then the pacemaker dropped out. He'd be better in a bigger field, covered up, and then you'd see his true potential. I said to Jamie to ride him for speed today, but he hasn't been able to.
"If ever we were going to take Sprinter Sacre on, today was going to be the day. I hope he has not had too hard a race as I want to take him on to the Clarence House Chase at Ascot (January 18). As far as I am concerned, Cheltenham (Queen Mother Champion Chase) is not the be-all and end-all."
williamhill.com Desert Orchid Chase (Grade 2)
£80,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Soft, Heavy in places
| Horse Trainer |
Jockey Weight |
Starting Price Beaten Distance |
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| 1 |
Sire De Grugy G L Moore |
J E Moore 11st 10lbs |
4 - 1 Winner |
| 2 |
Oiseau de Nuit C L Tizzard |
Brendan Powell 11st 6lbs |
33 - 1 4 lengths |
| 3 |
Astracad N A Twiston-Davies |
Sam Twiston-Davies 11st 0lbs |
50 - 1 26 lengths |
| 4 |
Tataniano R Rowe |
A Thornton 11st 0lbs |
66 - 1 10 lengths |
| 5 |
Fago P F Nicholls |
D A Jacob 11st 6lbs |
14 - 1 2 1/2 lengths |
| PU |
Sprinter Sacre N J Henderson |
B J Geraghty 11st 10lbs |
2 - 9 |
