Horse Racing: Redicean ready to take bite out of Apple

Redicean, who is now three wins from three starts over hurdles at Kempton, cemented his position as the biggest threat to the favourite, Apple’s Shakira, in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in just over a fortnight with a slick seven-length victory in the Betdaq Adonis Juvenile Hurdle on Saturday.

On drying ground which, for the first time this year was more like the going they will race on at the Festival, Redicean jumped immaculately but it was the turn of foot he showed from the back of the second-last hurdle which won him the race and, knowing he has a few gears up his sleeve, will stand jockey Wayne Hutchinson in good stead in the Triumph.

Alan King’s gelding is now anything between 9-2 and 7-1 for the race, while Apple’s Shakira, winner of her three starts – contrastingly, all at Cheltenham – is 5-2. But King, who has won the Triumph with Katchit and Penzance, was not the least bit worried that the Festival will be Redicean’s first visit to the Cotswolds.

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“That was lovely,” said King. “I’m thrilled. We thought he was good and his jumping was very slick. It was slightly novicey before but I should think he’s jumped 200 hurdles since his last run. We had a rush to get him ready for his run here at Christmas  because he didn’t arrive until October and we had him gelded. He won over a mile and six furlongs on the Flat so he’s going to stay. I haven’t been deliberately coming here to Kempton, it’s just the way it happened. The ground doesn’t matter to him.”

Ironically, neither Master Dee, who continued Fergal O’Brien’s great run this season by landing another big prize when taking the Betdaq Handicap Chase, nor Global Citizen, who was as impressive as Redicean when taking the Sky Bet Dovecote Novice Hurdle, will go to Cheltenham this year.

At this meeting last year, Barry  Geraghty broke an arm, which ruled him out of the Festival, but he gave Master Dee a superb ride, nursing him into the contest late on to get the better of Ballykan by 3¾ lengths.

“He said he was flat out all the way,” said O’Brien. “He came here after three months off fresh and well. We could have gone to Ascot last week but the Ronneys and [their racing manager]  Jason Maguire gave me the confidence to wait. He was good and brave at the last two and won going away.

“He has never been out of the first three in 22 runs – he is the model of consistency. Barry doesn’t think that Cheltenham is his track and that’s why we’ve stuck to flat tracks.”

Global Citizen came home nine lengths clear but arrived in Ben Pauling’s yard only just before the entries closed for the Supreme, having formerly been trained by near neighbour Jonjo O’Neill – but that may not be such a bad thing.

“That was quite exciting,” said Pauling, whose horses are back in form  after a mid-season lull. “His jumping was the main thing to take from that. We didn’t want to make too much of the running but wanted to put pressure on a couple of decent Flat horses in the field at an early stage.

“It looked a bit brave running him here but we hadn’t had the horses five minutes when the entries closed. I should think Aintree will be more his track. He’s in the Imperial Cup and he’d be nearly odds-on for that now but it comes a bit quick and we’ll be treating him like a very good horse now.”

After owner Jean Bishop enjoyed her first winner of the season, Kings Walk in the Betdaq Handicap Hurdle, Colin Tizzard announced that her best horse Cue Card, second in last week’s Ascot Chase, would run in the Ryanair rather than the Gold Cup at the Festival.

Though the most productive day at the races in the history of Seven  Barrows, at least Nicky Henderson’s Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup  favourites Buveur d’Air and Might Bite appeared to come through their racecourse gallops over two miles after  racing with flying colours.