Captain Teague (2/1 favourite) beat Lookaway and The Jukebox Man to win the Grade One Coral Challow Novices' Hurdle at Newbury; Paul Nicholls has won race four years in a row and six times overall; Jeriko Du Reponet cut to 4/1 for Supreme Novices' Hurdle after smooth success
Saturday 30 December 2023 16:54, UK
Captain Teague extended Paul Nicholls' stranglehold on the Coral Challow Hurdle with a battling success at Newbury.
The Champion Bumper third had claimed the Grade Two Persian War on his hurdling debut before having to settle for second on his next start at Cheltenham, and was backed into 2/1 favouritism prior to the final Grade One of the calendar year.
As chief market rival Willmount checked out tamely turning for home, Harry Cobden was motionless in the saddle aboard Captain Teague as he had he driven-along Lookaway and Ben Pauling's The Jukebox Man for company heading up the Newbury straight.
Approaching the last Cobden was still at pains to delay asking his mount for maximum effort, but when doing so he found a willing partner as Captain Teague stuck his head down and defied greenness to grind out a one-and-a-half-success over Neil King's Lookaway in second and The Jukebox Man who plugged on for third.
It was a fourth successive Challow success for Nicholls, who was registering a record-extending sixth victory overall in the two-and-a-half-mile event as Captain Teague joined the likes of Denman, Bravemansgame and Stage Star on the list of Ditcheat stars to claim this valuable Grade One prize.
"He travelled well and jumped brilliantly today and he's learning all the time," Nicholls told ITV Racing. "He just idled in front and I said to Harry if you are going well stride on a bit and try and put the race to bed, but he wishes he had hung on a little longer because he just doesn't do anything in front.
"He's basically just learning all the time and he's a lovely horse and I'm thrilled.
"He will keep on improving and he's a laid-back horse. We've done a lot of work on his jumping and he jumped better today - he didn't jump that great at Cheltenham. It just comes too easy for him and he's almost too laid-back. There he's travelled well, hit the front and thinks he has done enough.
"The best you will see of him is when he jumps a fence next season and he will ultimately get three miles one day, he's a proper horse."
On future plans, Nicholls answered: "I will discuss it with Johnny (De La Hay, owner) and I do think soft ground is very important to him.
"If you are talking about Cheltenham and things like that and it was goodish ground you would want to be going three miles (in the Albert Bartlett) and you wouldn't be afraid of going three miles. If it was testing ground, this sort of trip is ideal, but soft ground is important.
"If you go where Bravemansgame, Stage Star and Hermes Allen are, then he is in that sort of mix and they all ended up being decent chasers and that is where he will be one day."
In the aftermath, Captain Teague was cut to 14/1 from 33s by both Paddy Power and Betfair for the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Jeriko Du Reponet cemented his place as the favourite for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle with a comfortable success in the Coral Committed To Safer Gambling 'Introductory' Hurdle.
Trained by Nicky Henderson, the four-year-old was the talking horse of the autumn following a dazzling display at a Newbury gallops morning and confirmed that promise with a facile victory over course and distance on his Rules debut earlier this month.
Returning to Newbury as the 2/5 favourite to enhance his reputation amongst better company, Jeriko Du Reponet was asked a few more questions before ultimately answering them in good style.
James Bowen, replacing the injured Nico de Boinville, kept close tabs on Gary Moore's Officer Of State as the five-strong field meandered round Newbury and always had that rival covered heading up the home straight.
At two out he was joined at the head of proceedings by Alan King's 95-rated Flat performer Paradias, with Hughie Morrison's Secret Squirrel also not far away.
Jeriko Du Reponet and Paradias jumped the last in unison, but it was the class of the Seven Barrows inmate that took over on the run to the line as he cruised clear to win by one-and-three-quarter-lengths from a staying-on Secret Squirrel, with Paradias back in third.
The winner was shortened into 5/1 favourite from 7/1 with Coral for the opening race of the Cheltenham Festival, while Paddy Power were unchanged as 6/1 market leader.
Jeriko Du Reponet's success was the second leg of a quick-fire double for Henderson and Bowen at Newbury, as Spring Note made every yard of the running to land the Play Coral 'Racing-Super-Series' For Free Mares' Handicap Hurdle.
The 11/4 favourite barely saw a rival up the home straight as she surged to an emphatic 16-length triumph.
Surrey Quest provided Toby Lawes with one of the biggest victories of his training career to date when landing the Coral Mandarin Handicap Chase.
Formally a right-hand man to Nicky Henderson, it was somewhat fitting it was a former Seven Barrows inmate that provided him with his finest hour as he followed up an impressive stable bow at Huntingdon with a battling success in the rain-softened ground.
Having been up with the leaders throughout, Surrey Quest stuck to his task gamely when asked for maximum effort by man-of-the-moment Bowen, who was striking for the third time on the card.
Although not fluent two from home, the 7/2 chance still had enough in reserve to hold off Kerry Lee's 11/4 favourite Atlanta Brave by three-quarters of a length.
However, there would be no four-timer for Bowen as Henderson's Walking On Air was denied by Ben Pauling's Henry's Friend (17/2) in the concluding Coral Get Closer To The Action Novices' Limited Handicap Chase.
A useful hurdler last term, it was a huge improvement on the six-year-old's Doncaster chasing debut and a performance that somewhat surprised his handler.
Issar d'Airy made a pleasing chasing debut to strike at 4/1 in the New 'Bet-In-Race' With Coral Handicap Chase.
Gary Moore's five-year-old stepped up markedly on what he had shown over hurdles and produced a superb round of jumping under Niall Houlihan as he sauntered to a four-and-a-quarter-length success over the 6-5 favourite Martator, who had attempted to make all.
Meanwhile, the fine season of King George VI winning rider Gavin Sheehan continued when he scored another Saturday success aboard Olly Murphy's Rambo T (2/1 favourite) in the Coral Racing Club Join For Free Handicap Hurdle.
