Non So stays on target for Arkle
Nicky Henderson and Mick Fitzgerald entered the New Year in top form and the Seven Barrows team kept the ball rolling with a double at Plumpton today thanks to Old Bean and Non So.
The latter nailed his colours to the mast for the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham in March when he followed up his fencing debut victory at the East Sussex track by landing the Southern FM Novices’ Chase.
Non So was sent off the 2-5 favourite but did not have it all his own way, having to work hard for his length-and-a-quarter victory over Tidour.
Henderson also has the smart Caracciola in the Arkle, and Fitzgerald would not be drawn on his preference between the pair at this stage.
The winning trainer said: “They didn’t go fast enough for Non So to bring his turn of foot into play. He can go a bit and is ready to join in with the big boys now on that performance.”
Non So remains 12-1 with William Hill for the Arkle but Ladbrokes were not impressed and pushed him out to 20-1 from 14s.
Old Bean took the first division of the Chaplins Bar ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle after the Martin Pipe-trained Your So Cool drifted out to 11-4 after opening at odds-on.
The market was right as Old Bean (11-2) mastered that one at the final flight to score by two lengths.
Henderson reported that Saturday’s Sandown last-flight faller Perle De Puce was fine after her tumble. “She pulled out this morning all right, which was a great relief,” he said.
Watchful Witness, winner of the Plumpton Racecourse Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle, may be gelded soon.
Following the colt’s length-and-a-half victory over Bella Bambina under trainer Gary Moore’s son Jamie, the handler said: “He made hard work of it. He’s learned a lot from his first run, but seemed to have forgotten all about it here. He might have an appointment with the vet tomorrow morning.”
Watchful Witness, bought at the Newmarket July sales and formerly trained by French maestro Andre Fabre, was sent off the 4-6 favourite.
The father-and-son partnership were on the mark again with Shaman, the 11-2 winner of the Tote Exacta Handicap Hurdle by a neck from Carly Bay. Moore senior said: “It is the first time everything has gone right for the horse in a race.”
There were a couple of upsets in the second division of the Chaplins Bar ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle, with 4-11 favourite He’s The Boss falling at the first flight and Jacks Craic, the mount of Tony McCoy, coming down when upsides two out.
The race went to Gatejumper, trained by Robert Alner and ridden by Robert Walford, whose owners Pell-Mell Partners almost withdrew the gelding because they thought he would not handle the soft ground.
However, Walford reported that Gatejumper (9-1) had revelled in the going as he beat Rocabee by seven lengths.
Trainer Bob Buckler and jockey Ben Hitchcott earned sweet recompense for He’s the Boss’s fall when 25-1 shot Basil stayed on to great purpose in the marathon three-mile-five-furlong Tote Bookmakers Handicap Chase to beat Moral Support by two and a half lengths.
Buckler said: “Basil outworks everything at home and stays forever.”
Inaki (4-1), partnered by Ron Flavin, took the plumptonracecourse.co.uk Handicap Chase by six lengths from Just Muckin Around, having won at the track just over a year ago.
A crowd of 2,600 paying customers attended the meeting.
