In the fourth edition of Racing Weekly, Rishi Persad and Sam Turner were joined by in-form jockey Charlie Deutsch, who discussed another win for Funambule Sivola.
Funambule Sivola landed the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury over the weekend and is now a best price 20/1 shot for the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
“They’ll have to be good horses to beat him”
Deutsch reflected: “His best races have been on a flat track on good-to-soft ground. He's very quick, he's a quick jumper. He got close to one or two early on at Newbury but settled once he got his eye in. I don't mind which race he goes for (at the Festival); it's up to Venetia (Williams), but it sounded like she was talking about the Champion Chase. They'll have to be good horses to beat him.”
Before being joined by Deutsch, Persad and Turner started, as normal, with the weekend’s Racing Recap, headlined by a welcome win for the Paul Nicholls yard via Bravemansgame in the Betfair Cheltenham Roarcast Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase at Newbury.
Palpable relief for the Nicholls team
Turner said of Bravemansgame: “He is a ready-made Gold Cup aspirant for next year. Yes there’s a few hoops to jump through before he gets to that sort of point, but the relief was palpable for the Nicholls team that he managed to get his head in front, win in the sort of style they thought he would and beat some horses that went into the race in pretty good form.”
Bravemansgame now looks primed for a battle with Galopin Des Champs in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Four minutes into the show, you can find out which way Turner thinks the race would go should they meet in four weeks’ time.
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Another of the big headlines from the weekend was the long odds win for Glory and Fortune in the Betfair Hurdle. Turner told Racing Weekly viewers why it wasn’t quite the surprise it’s been dressed up as: “When you think he finished in front of Soaring Glory in the Christmas Hurdle, just two or three lengths behind Epatante who's third favourite for the Champion Hurdle, 20/1 was a big price.”
Reaction to Sir Mark Todd’s apology
Some unsavoury topics had to be discussed in the Talking Topics section as Sir Mark Todd, a licensed trainer and double Olympic gold medal-winning equestrian rider had to issue an apology after a video emerged showing him hitting a horse with a branch. Tune in for Persad and Turner’s reaction to the story at the 37-minute mark.
Closing the show, our presenting duo preview the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, including a look at the ‘without favourite’ market given the dominance of Honeysuckle, now a best price 1/2 on oddschecker.
