This weekend all eyes were on Nicky Henderson's stable star, Sprinter Sacre. After spending 386 days on the sideline, we were graced by the Black aeroplane's presence in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot. Signs of the old Sprinter Sacre were apparent, floating over fences & I think it's fair to say, generally his jumping was on point. As Barry negotiated position coming round the bend for home, Dodging Bullets responded well to Noel Fehily's questions & kicked on for home, with Sprinter Sacre given no hard time chasing him home in second. Interestingly enough, the result after Denman returned from the same condition, yielded the same result, & Denman went on to win only once after his heart issues. Same story for Sprinter Sacre? Link to Saturday's race if you missed it >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjz-XokYZb4
The New One took to the stage at Haydock for the StanJames.com Champion Hurdle Trial. Backers of Twiston-Davies 1/6 shot had hearts in their mouths for a fair way out as The New One was convincing no one with his jumping. Jumping violently right & clipping a few, it seems old habits die hard. Harry Skelton got Bertimont into a decent position & managed to gain a comfortable advantage. Sam was hard at work coming over the last & upset was on the cards. The New One didn't go down without a fight & dug deep to get up to beat Skelton's mount by two and a bit lengths. In response to the performance, bookmakers eased The New One in the betting & Faugheen was shortened. The Twiston-Davies team are still confident they have a worthy contender & put disappointing run down to the ground conditions.
