Roysse raced with his usual zest at Uttoxeter on Saturday. Well piloted by Liam Harrison and despite a few dubious leaps Roysse's class enabled him to finally get his deserved win. Congratulations to his owners, The OAs.
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Article by Liam Headd for the Racing Post
Ben Pauling holds Handstands in the highest regard after he produced a classy performance to land the Grade 2 DragonBet Towton Novices' Chase and continue the trainer’s stellar season with his novices. Handstands recorded his fifth career win from seven starts, with last year's Gallagher Novices' Hurdle, won by Ballyburn at the Cheltenham Festival, and a chase debut at Wincanton when falling three out, his only defeats. The nine-length victory confirmed the promise of the Tim Radford-owned six-year-old, who could return to the top level for next month’s Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown. Pauling said: "I think that’ll work out to be a good performance and he’s a decent horse with a good future. The Scilly Isles was always the plan and Ben [Jones, jockey] said he was fresh as a daisy coming in, which is good. If he’s fit and well over the next few days, and if he’s in the same bit of form then 100 per cent he’ll go to Sandown. "That will, undoubtedly, have been a hard race and we’ve got to hope he bounces out of it because I wouldn’t want to run him under par." Handstands was one of only two finishers in the six-runner contest as Range fell at the seventh, while Saint Davy took a heavy fall at the third last and hampered Hillcrest, who unseated Sam Twiston-Davies. Cherie D'Am, who quickly weakened under Harry Skelton, also came down at the same fence. Handstands backed up his success over three miles in the Grade 2 Esher Novices' Chase, and Pauling added: “It was another step in the right direction. "It was a funny one because the ground looked very hard work. Although he won on proper wet ground at Huntingdon, I was a little nervous how he’d take it today. He jumped a little bit [like a] novice and bold, and hung in the air at a couple of fences because it was probably hard to get out of the ground. But ultimately he put the race bed with ease." Handstands was cut to 20-1 (from 40s) with Betfair for the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham, but Pauling believes Aintree could be on the radar for his five-time winner. He said: "He wasn’t himself when he turned up at Cheltenham last year and I don’t think it’s necessarily on his agenda this year. He’s more likely to go to Aintree, and that’s mainly the owners preference over mine. "It’s not that I don’t think he’s good enough. If we’re going to go to Sandown then he would have had a busy period up to Cheltenham and that bit of extra time before Aintree would see him to his best." Vanderpoel quickly records a debut win over hurdles for new owner Lady Dulverton. A very exciting start for the Irish Pointing graduate with an impressive jumping display at Huntingdon under Ben Jones.
Article from The Racing Post, by James Stevens & Jonathan Harding
Ben Pauling insists the "deadly speed" of Diva Luna will ensure she is a major contender at the Cheltenham Festival, and vows there is more to come after her gutsy win in the 2m4½f maiden hurdle. Paddy Power cut her to 14-1 (from 25) for the Mares' Novices' Hurdle in March after she made all to hold off Newton Tornado and register a first victory since her breathtaking performance in Aintree's mares' bumper in April. Pauling, who believes Diva Luna is one of the best horses he trains, has the option of the Grade 2 Jane Seymour at Sandown on February 13 as her festival warm-up. The trainer said: "That was better but nowhere near her best. I wanted to settle her in behind and take a lead but she's locked on to the first and that was that. "I think she's going to be better over two miles, she's deadly with her speed. She'll end up getting three miles in time but at the moment she wants to get on with life, so we'll probably drop her back to two miles and go from there. "It's just good to get her back in the winner's enclosure. She's very talented and I still think she's one of the best we've got. I need to see more than that to win a Mares' Novices' Hurdle but I think she'll find it." Diva Luna's success completed a great festive period for the Gloucestershire stable, which celebrated a first Grade 1 winner in seven years when The Jukebox Man landed the Kauto Star Novices' Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. The Brown Advisory-bound novice headlines Pauling's festival team. |
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