Exeter Haldon Gold Cup Thread

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Looks like it could be a cracking renewal... so far

Cue Card

CUE CARD has been given the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter as his first mission of the season before building up for a shot at the King George VI Chase at Kempton.

Trained by Colin Tizzard, Cue Card finished second to Sprinter Sacre in the Racing Post Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival and is to stick to shorter trips before stepping up to 3m on December 26.

Joe Tizzard, who has ridden Cue Card in all 12 of his races, wrote on his Wincanton racecourse blog: "I schooled him last week and having originally favoured Cheltenham's Open meeting, we have decided to opt for the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter next month.

"We will run there predominately because the two-mile trip rides stiffer and more to Cue Card's liking. Also, the prize-money is better!"

Menorah/ Captain Chris

Philip Hobbs is planning a twin-pronged assault on next month's Haldon Gold Cup, with stable stars Menorah and Captain Chris both on course to run in the Exeter feature.

Menorah enjoyed a fine novice campaign over fences, finishing third in the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham before taking Grade One honours at Aintree.

Captain Chris was disappointing for the majority of the last campaign, but showed more of his old sparkle when not beaten far into fourth in the Ryanair Chase.

Hobbs said: "We are looking at the Haldon Gold Cup (November 6) for Menorah and he is very likely to start his season off there. He is in good form and seems fine at the moment. It's a case of seeing how he gets on at Exeter before deciding what route he will go down this season.

"Captain Chris ran in the Haldon Gold Cup last year and he is likely to run as well. He ran a good race when fourth in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham and it was pleasing to see him return to a bit of form."

Edgardo Sol:

Really versatile – a close second in the County Hurdle and then won an Aintree handicap chase. "Showed incredible improvement last season. Better handicapped over hurdles, he'll start in a handicap hurdle or maybe the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter in November."

[Sprinter]

http://www.fatjockey.com/festivals/racing_festivals.php?Haldon-Gold-Cup-Stats-94

Any market on this ?

[Statto]

Cue Card and Menorah face off in a fascinating five-runner renewal of the Sportingbet Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter on Tuesday. Colin Tizzard's Cue Card beat the subsequently impressive Old Roan Chase winner For Non Stop at Newbury and then finished second to Sprinter Sacre in the Arkle.

The Philip Hobbs-trained Menorah took his time to warm to fences and was beaten much further in the Arkle.

But by the time he got to Aintree he knew his job and landed a Grade One in style, beating Saturday's Down Royal winner Cristal Bonus by seven lengths.

He ended his season with a fourth in heavy ground at the Punchestown Festival.

Hobbs has recently won the race with Monkerhostin (2005) and Planet Of Sound (2009).

Paul Nicholls runs Edgardo Sol, who proved very versatile last season.

Renard, trained by Venetia Williams, improved tremendously last season and is also in contention, while Jeremy Scott's Webberys Dream completes the fiel

[Statto]

Racecard
# Form Horse A Wgt Trainer Jockey OR Naps Odds
1 11F314- Menorah (IRE) 193 7 11-10 P J Hobbs R Johnson 160
2 435216- Edgardo Sol (FR) 199 5 11-7 P F Nicholls R Walsh 157
3 2/1U212- Cue Card 238 6 11-7 C L Tizzard J Tizzard 157
4 451PP-3 Renard (FR) 10 7 10-5 Miss V Williams Aidan Coleman 141
5 62212-2 Webberys Dream 180 9 10-4 J Scott Matt Griffiths (3) 129


Forecast

Cue Card (6/4), Menorah (15/8), Edgardo Sol (3/1), Renard (14/1), Webberys Dream (25/1)

[Lester]

Haldon Gold Cup Trends

10 Year Haldon Gold Cup Betting Trends

10/10 - Won a chase race over at least 2m2f previously

10/10 - Returned 10/1 or shorter

9/10 - Won at least 3 times over fences previously

9/10 - Having their 1st run of the new season

9/10 - Officially rated 150 or higher

8/10 - Won by a French-bred horse

7/10 - Winning distance - 3 lengths or more

7/10 - Carried 10-9 or more in weight

7/10 - Finished in the top 3 in their latest race

6/10 - Raced at either Aintree (3) or Cheltenham (3) last time out

5/10 - Won just 3 previous times over fences

5/10 - Won by a horse aged 6 or 7 years-old

5/10 - Favourites unplaced

4/10 - Won over fences at Exeter

4/10 - Carried 11-10 in weight

3/10 - Ridden by Richard Johnson

3/10 - Won by a horse aged 7 years-old

2/10 - Won their most recent race

2/10 - Favourites that won

2/10 - Ridden by Ruby Walsh

2/10 - Trained by Philip Hobbs

2/10 - Trained by Paul Nicholls (won the race 4 times)

[mayo]

CUE CARD bids to record his first high profile success since landing the Cheltenham Festival's Champion Bumper in 2010 when he runs in Tuesday's sportingbet Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter.

Trainer Colin Tizzard has weighed up a choice of starting options for Cue Card and plumped for the Grade 2 chase whose illustrious former winners include Champion Chase winners Edredon Bleu and Azertyuiop.
With Menorah and Edgardo Sol also in the field the race comprises three of the top of seven in the betting for next year's Queen Mother Champion Chase but a rematch with Sprinter Sacre in March may not necessarily be Cue Card's goal with connections likely to make an entry for the King George VI Chase when the race closes at noon on Tuesday.

The horse's jockey Joe Tizzard said: "He has been back in since the end of July. He is in terrific form and the plan was always to run him about now. It was tempting to take him to the Paddy Power Gold Cup or Kempton but two miles round Exeter first time out should suit him down to the ground.

"The Arkle was a really good run and he beat Menorah 20 lengths in the Arkle and he is having to give us 3lb. Sprinter Sacre is exceptional but Cue Card is very good in his own right and has a massive chance tomorrow.

"He will definitely have an entry in the King George. Dad is sure he stays. He is bred to stay. He gets two and a half. We are going to have a look at it. I would imagine there will be a run in between but we will see how we get on tomorrow first."

[mayo]

Connections hope Exeter escapes further rain ahead of Menorah's reappearance in the halton gold cup....
Philip Hobbs' charge faces the likes of Cue Card and Edgardo Sol in Tuesday's big race and has pleased connections in his prep work.

Jockey Richard Johnson said: "He seems in very good form at home and this looks a nice place to start him off. Fingers crossed everything goes well and then we can decide where to go after this.

"Past winners of this race have tended to be stayers rather than speed horses and he won over two and a half miles at Aintree.

"It's a competitive race and we hope he improves from it. The ground is good to soft, which should be fine, as he likes it nice. He just got stuck in the mud at Punchestown so hopefully the rain stays away."

Hobbs added: "All has gone well in his preparation and he seems in good order."

[mayo]

Hobbs' form a worry for Haldon

National Hunt fans are in for a real treat this Tuesday as Exeter racecourse welcomes a whole host of star jumping names to contest in the SportingBet-sponsored Haldon Gold Cup.


Dunwoody .....


Plenty of great names, like Best Mate, Travado, Edredon Bleu, Viking Flagship, Azertyuiop, have used this race to get their season's underway, while I was lucky enough to pilot Very Promising (1987) and Waterloo Boy (1992) to victory during my riding days.

The stiff Exeter course provides these chasers with an excellent early season test and with around £34,000 on offer to the winner then it's easy to see why the contest attracts some big names.

The going at the Devon track is currently described as good-to-soft, but although the outlook for Tuesday is okay the days leading up to the race are not. So with rain forecast on Sunday and Monday there is a good chance the underfoot conditions will be more on the soft side, meaning that the tracks stiff finish will certainly take its toll on Tuesday's runners.

At this stage the main entries that look sure to fight out the finish are Menorah, Gauvain, Oiseau De Nuit, Edgardo Sol and Cue Card.

The Philip Hobbs yard have landed the prize in 2005 and 2009, so they will be hoping to add to that record with Gauvain and Menorah, but it's worth pointing out that the stable have only had 3 winners from their last 32 runners (correct as of Sunday), and that would be a tiny worry for me.

The classy Menorah, who was fifth in Hurricane Fly's 2011 Champion Hurdle, did get his jumping together towards the backend of last season and was really impressive when landing the Manifesto Novices' Chase at the Aintree Grand National meeting, but it's worth pointing out he did take a tumble on this card 12 months ago when a short-priced favourite in the Novices' Chase, and also came down last January at Doncaster. On a plus, he will, however, have Richard Johnson on his back - a jockey who has won this race four times in the past.

I guess the same jumping worries could apply to Hobbs' other runner, Gauvain. We last saw this former Nick Williams-trained horse unseating in the Old Roan Chase 10 days ago, but that was quite early on and providing it's not impacted his confidence he could go well at a track he's won at before, albeit over hurdles. He's also won first time out for the past 2 seasons, so although technically this is his second race of the season it's clear he goes well fresh and should have been tuned up to go well at Aintree last month.

Colin Tizzard trains the other two big names - Oiseau De Nuit, who's already won this season when romping away with a decent handicap Chase at Chepstow 10 days ago. A 8lb rise makes life harder here, but he was a 3 ½ length third in this race 12 months ago off a 5lb lower mark, and having won on a variety of different ground then he should be fine no matter what the weather throws at the track.

The stable's main runner, however, and the one all eyes will be on is Cue Card. He's another that's gone well fresh in the past, winning first time out for the past three seasons and with his yard also in cracking form then a big run is expected. We last saw him running a very respectable 7 lengths second to Sprinter Sacre in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham, while the time before that he beat the recent Old Roan Chase winner, For Non Stop, at Newbury. Having won over further then the stiff Exeter finish also should suit, while he's another that's won on soft ground before - he rates the one to beat for me.

The final big name is from the Paul Nicholls yard, who have targeted this race with success in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2010, as they are likely to send Edgardo Sol to post. This horse is still only 5 years-old and we all saw at the weekend that the yard's younger brigade are starting to live up to their reputations with the likes of Kauto Stone and Silviniaco Conti winning big races. Yes, they've still got a fair way to go to replace the likes of Denman, Master Minded and, of course, Kauto Star, who was retired last week, but they are certainly going in the right direction.

Edgardo Sol mixed it up over both hurdles and fences last season, coming second in the County Hurdle and then landing the Red Rum Handicap Chase at Aintree the following month. He's a horse that improved bundles last season and the fact the Nicholls camp have chosen him to run in a race they've often done so well in is a huge positive. However, if there is one slight negative it could be the ground - to date all his wins have been on ground no worse than good-to-soft.

[mayo]

Nicholls: Sol has to improve

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls hopes Edgardo Sol progresses this season as much as he did the last campaign, when his mark rose 30lb over fences.
The five year old is one of a five-strong field for the Sportingbet Haldon Gold Cup Chase at Exeter on Tuesday.

The French import was a beaten favourite in a Newton Abbot chase on his first start for his current connections 13 months ago but preceded to win his next two starts - one over hurdles and one chase.

He proved his versatility and durability by finishing second in the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival before winning over the larger obstacles at Aintree's Grand National meeting.

"He's a really versatile horse and switched between hurdles and fences really well last season," said the Ditcheat handler.

"I just hope he progresses as much over fences again as he will need to - we're meeting two really smart rivals in Cue Card and Menorah.

"He's fit and well, though, and he deserves to take his chance in a race such as this."

[Navanman]

Cue card form is actually very good ....first time out last year


Pos Draw Dist Horse Weight Jockey Trainer Age SP
1st Cue Card 11-4 J Tizzard C L Tizzard 5 10/11f
Mostly jumped well, took keen hold, made all at steady pace, not fluent 8th and next, joined 5 out, quickened to draw clear and in command from 3 out, kept on strongly opened 10/11 touched evs £1100-£1000 £550-£500 £1000-£1000(x3) £600-£600 £500-£500(x2) £400-£400
2nd 3½ Micheal Flips (IRE) 11-4 Nick Scholfield Andrew Turnell 7 8/1
Chased winner, challenged 5 out, upsides when hit next, dropped to 3rd 2 out, rallied to 2nd again flat, no chance with winner opened 13/2 touched 8/1
3rd 1 Silviniaco Conti (FR) 11-4 R Walsh P F Nicholls 5 11/8
Tracked leading pair, went 2nd 2 out and driven, no chance with winner, dropped to 3rd flat opened 7/4 touched 7/4 £1400-£800 £650-£400 £4500-£3000 £825-£600 £550-£400
4th 49 Le Corvee (IRE) 11-9 Lee Edwards (3) A W Carroll 9 50/1
Held up in close 4th, blundered and outpaced 4 out, no chance after, tailed off opened 40/1 touched 66/1

[johnno]

Looks like a no bet race to me. Cue card worthy favourite but Nicholls are flying...

[Statto]

I am passing on this one too.

[Yeehaa]

Morning all. Nice write up here


Classy chasers face Haldon test on road to Cheltenham - Racing - Sport - The Independent

The domestic jump season sprang into life at the weekend – defying the £16m-worth of Breeders' Cup in California – and takes another lively step today at Exeter. The little country track, high on Haldon Hill west of the city whose name it bears, often demands masochism from its patrons when they find themselves shrouded in wet mist that has swept off nearby Dartmoor.

But whatever the weather there's no gainsaying the quality of the competitors who turn up at one of the sport's outposts. And over the years the place has played host to several Kipling-style impostors: the triumph of the likes of Viking Flagship, Best Mate and Azertyuiop; the disaster of Best Mate's death after his three Gold Cup wins; the shock of defeat for Desert Orchid; the drama of novice Kauto Star's penultimate-fence fall and remounted near-victory.

We are in an era that seems to demand simplistic "narrative" at every turn and today's feature, the Haldon Gold Cup, is tagged as part of "the road to Cheltenham". On the path that leads to the Queen Mother Champion Chase – where the extraordinary Sprinter Sacre, regarded as two-mile chasing's Frankel, lies in wait – this may prove something of a crossroads for today's principal protagonists, Cue Card and Menorah.

They will contest a Grade Two chase over a demanding two and a quarter miles which presents a test that can suit either speed horses or stayers, and both have won over shorter and longer trips. "We could have gone to Wetherby for the Charlie Hall [three miles and a furlong] on Saturday but I didn't want to bottom him first time up," said Cue Card's trainer, Colin Tizzard, yesterday. "This is a lovely starting place. It's a stiff track, the equivalent of two and a half, and afterwards we'll know which way to go with him."

Though neither Cue Card nor Menorah, from the Philip Hobbs yard, proved any match at all for Sprinter Sacre in the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham, their winning novice form last season has already had recent boosts. Before the Festival, Cue Card accounted for last month's wide-margin Aintree winner For Non Stop, and after it Menorah bounced back to beat Cristal Bonus, impressive at Down Royal on Saturday.

Hobbs has won this race twice in recent years, with Monkerhostin and Planet of Sound. "Menorah has bags of pace," he said, "and he could go up in trip or down." Paul Nicholls, who added a double at Kempton on Sunday to his classy four-timer on Saturday, saddles the versatile Edgardo Sol.

[mayo]

Cue Card for me. His form looks better now - even over hurdles - than it did at the time. Tizzard's horses seem fit too.

[Old Vic]

Any views on the rags ?