bet365 Celebration Chase
Grade 1, Sandown 15:00
£150,000 added,
5yo plus,
2m, Class 1    
Saturday 27th April 2019

SureWIn

1 Altior 1/6F
2 Sceau Royal 100/30
3 God's Own 20/1
5 ran NR: Darebin Distances: 2½l, 3l, 2l
Time: 3m 50.10s (slow by 4.10s)

Altior creates history by recording his 19th consecutive victory

Nicky Henderson’s Altior threw down the gauntlet to the opposition from the off as he jumped from fence to fence, and whenever another horse got within touching distance, he pulled out more without being overly extended.

Sceau Royal tried to mount a challenge and did look dangerous at one stage, but he was ultimately brushed aside as the 1-6 favourite passed the post two and a half lengths to the good in the hands of Nico de Boinville.

The nine-year-old had joined mighty staying hurdler Big Buck’s on 18 wins when landing the Queen Mother Champion Chase for a second time at Cheltenham in March.

Henderson is now looking forward to stepping Altior up in trip next season.

He said: “He told us one thing today – go further, so that is what we will do. There is not much point doing it for the Ryanair, so you have got to go King George.

“How we set it up, I’m not quite sure, but we’ve got a long summer to think about that. Nico said he had to keep the revs up the whole way there. He was firing along and going a good old rattle.

“His jumping keeps him going like that. He just keeps galloping.

“Nico said he is not quite as quick as he was, but I think that has been coming for the last year, so that’s fine – now is the time to do what you all have been telling me to do for two years!”

He added: “We are incredibly lucky, touch wood, he has been an easy horse to train. Although we have had that one wind operation, apart from that he has been a very sound horse, so let’s hope he can stay that way.

“If you have sound horses and you can train them properly, it makes life an awful lot more easy, as you know you are going in there in good shape every time.

Trainers Quotes

“He is a very easy horse to read, he wasn’t ready before Aintree and he told us he hadn’t got over Cheltenham.

“It is great when you have horses that virtually talk to you. I would have loved to have gone to Aintree for the two-and-a-half race (JLT Chase), but he just wasn’t ready to come back for that.

“He is a great athlete. I was walking the course this morning with Nico and we walked passed the ditch in front of the stands and we said we know what he will do here. Every year he has met that ditch and gone ‘whoosh’.

“He is a champion and he has to be, as he has done what he has done, but as people say – you are not something until you have done something quite extraordinary.”

De Boinville said: “It’s great to get the record, it’s fantastic. He didn’t travel as sweetly as I’d like him, but we will go up in trip next season and go from there. It looks like he wants it. He wants every yard of two and a half to three miles.

“I’d love to take on the likes of Cyrname and different horses like that. He is always just holding on to a bit. I just had to keep him up to his game and interested.”

Alan King said of Sceau Royal: “I thought Altior making the running would make him more lethal. He ran really well, but not at any stage did I think he was going to beat him.

“He was travelling all right, but Altior was just dossing in front.

“He is a grand horse, but we have been beaten by a champion. If one of the good novices come through he is always going to be vulnerable, but he has run great.”

SureWIn

bet365 Celebration Chase
£150,000 added, 5yo plus, 2m, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good, Good to Firm in places

Pos D Horse SP Jockey Weight Trainer Age
1st Altior (IRE) 1/6f Nico de Boinville
11-7		 N J Henderson 9
2nd 2½ Sceau Royal (FR) 10/3 D A Jacob
11-7		 A King 7
3rd 3 God's Own (IRE) 20/1 P J Brennan
11-7		 T R George 11
4th 2 Vosne Romanee 33/1 Sam Twiston-Davies
11-7		 Dr R D P Newland 8
5th 46 Diego Du Charmil (FR) 20/1 H Cobden
11-7		 P F Nicholls 7
NR Darebin (GER) Non Runner
11-7		 G L Moore 7

SureWIn