Gauvain makes up for lost time at Cheltenham
As a practising accountant, Nick Williams is used to handling big figures and it is clearly the same in his other career as a trainer.
Gauvain came back from the small matter of 576 days off the track to win the Sinbad Testimonial 2010/2011 Chase at Cheltenham. The race had expected to develop into a duel between Tataniano, who set a strong gallop throughout, and Forpadydeplasterer and it appeared to be following that script on the run to third-last.
Mahogany Blaze was beginning to wilt as Forpadydeplasterer drew upsides Tataniano, despite an untidy jump. But Daryl Jacob had been quietly working Gauvain – who had not been seen on a racecourse since winning a novice chase at Cheltenham in April 2009 when trained by Charlie Mann – into contention down the inside rail.
Swinging off the home turn the three were in line coming to the penultimate fence but that was the point at which Tataniano cracked. Forpadydeplasterer, who had been knocking on the door like a persistent salesman, seemed to have a slight edged as he tried to snap a run of six successive second-placed runs. But Gauvain found much more from the last to win by four lengths. “He’s unbelievable. Nick, Jane and all the staff have done a great job with this horse,” Jacobs said. “He’s been off the track a long, long time. He jumped great, travelled great and from three out I always looked like the winner.”
Even assuming that Forpadydeplasterer is usually a better hors in the second half of the season, this was an impressive performance by the winner, who would have been receiving 25lbs from the runner-up in a handicap.
Nick Williams may have been on something of a scouting mission with Gauvain but it is the Queen Mother Champion Chase, rather than handicaps, that is on his mind now. “I’m thrilled but also very surprised,” he admitted.
Gauvain had looked plenty fit enough through the final furlong but Williams said: “It was a two-mile race after all so it’s not a gruelling test exactly is it?” Given that Gauvain had the likes of Tataniano, Mahogany Blaze and Oh Crick trailing him by 10, 28 and 42 lengths respectively they obviously found it plenty tough enough.
“I’m as surprised as everyone else that he’s won like that,” he said, admitting that there were no plans set in stone as yet. “I haven’t really thought that far. I suppose one or two races before the Champion Chase not an arduous campaign. And we took the blinkers off as an experiment to see if he operated without them. And obviously he does.”
Williams had actually believed that For Non Stop had been his best chance of a winner on the card in the Paddy Power Intermediate Handicap Hurdle. And he was still in contention at the second-last, until Tom Scudamore kicked on with Grands Crus as David Pipe’s horse came home by six lengths. And 20 minutes later Pipe had brought up a valuable double when Peut Etre Sivola, ridden by Johnny Farrelly, won the Totesuper7 Southern National Handicap Chase at Fontwell for the second year in succession.
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http://www.senore.com/Snow-Fairy-wins-in-Japan-a40984
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