Sanctuaire overshadows rivals in Williamhill.com Desert Orchid Chase
Sanctuaire proved too strong for his opponents in the Williamhill.com Desert Orchid Chase (Grade 2) at Kempton in England on Thursday, December 27, 2012.
He was rated as the outright favourite to succeed in the all important competition and did not allow anyone else to come closer to him. He has been delivering some spectacular results for his team throughout the 2012 season and did not disappoint his fans
yesterday.
The six-year-old challenger from France has entered five chase events in his career, winning four of them. There was only one time when he failed to secure the top spot, but his performance back then was also not bad, as he ended up third overall.
He entered the Desert Orchid Chase with a starting price of 11 to 8 and was strong right from the start of the 2 mile encounter. Although, the conditions were testing, he did not take any pressure and finished on top of the table by a comfortable margin
of 13 lengths.
His trainer, Paul Nicholls, was absolutely delighted with the outcome of the race and praised his challenger for his emphatic run.
The veteran said, “He's an enigma and both me and Ruby (Walsh) thought he was beaten around the last bend, especially as Ruby dropped his stick at the last in the back straight and Sanctuaire switched off. But when the other horse went past him he picked
up again but that is him - he's a character.”
Revealing some of the future plans, Nicholls added, “He probably won't take on Sprinter Sacre at Ascot (Victor Chandler Chase) but will do in the Champion Chase and then there is Sandown at the end of the season which will suit him.”
The Philip Hobbs’ trainee, Wishfull Thinking, was expected to be competitive in the race, but he failed to make a strong impression in the end. He has got a pretty decent record in chase events, but struggled from the start until the end at Kempton.
His owner, Grahame Whateley, was not disappointed with the outcome of the race and claimed that the ground was not in favour of his seasoned challenger, who ended up fourth overall.
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