Diamond sparkles on jumps debut
Smart Flat-racer Carte Diamond made a winning debut over jumps at Newcastle today to leave connections dreaming of Cheltenham Festival glory.
The colt had won the November Handicap on his first start for Malton trainer Brian Ellison and he was sent off the 5-4 joint-favourite for the Freeclaim IDC Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle, having reportedly schooled well at home.
Carte Diamond was always travelling smoothly just off the pace for Brian Harding before taking closer order turning for home, where his market rival, Iron Man, went on.
However, Carte Diamond had him in his sights and he took up the running after the third-last. Although strongly pressed by the persistent Iron Man in the closing stages, he had enough pace on the flat to draw clear and land the spoils by five lengths.
After the race Paddy Power went 20-1 about Carte Diamond’s chances in the JCB Triumph Hurdle next March.
Ellison said: “I’ve never been so nervous because I think he’s the best horse I’ve ever had – he’s a serious racehorse.
“Brian said he blew up. I haven’t been hard on him since the November Handicap. He had quite a hard race there, so we’ve been concentrating on his schooling and he’s only probably had a couple of bits of work.
“He’ll improve a lot for that and long-term it will be Cheltenham, I hope - that’s what we are training him for.
“We’ll look at the Triumph and the Champion Hurdle as well.
“We’d consider the Champion if he transferred his rating off the Flat to jumping, but he’d have to keep improving.
“He might go to Cheltenham in a fortnight, but he won’t be over-raced, maybe just two or three races before the Festival.
“But if he’s not good enough for the Triumph he won’t go there – he’d have to go there with a serious chance of winning. If not, we’d keep him for Liverpool.”
Harding was completing a double, having guided another possible Festival contender, Your A Gassman, to success in the Thomas Armstrong & Ruberoid Building Products Novices’ Chase.
Your A Gassman and Paddy The Piper dominated the betting in the race and with over a circuit to go in the three-mile test the 11-10 joint-favourites had the race to themselves as well.
Your A Gassman, who had been in the lead from flag-fall, put in some extravagant leaps, while his rival tended to jump to the right.
Having shaken off Paddy The Piper three from home, Your A Gassman continued to jump soundly and galloped home to score by 11 lengths.
Winning trainer Ferdy Murphy said: “This horse jumps brilliantly and he was unreal there. He’s a typical National Hunt horse in that he needed time and Walter (Gott, his owner) was prepared to give him some.
“He’ll improve again this year. He’s the type of horse who’ll get stronger and stronger, but it’s always smashing to see them jump like that.
“We’ll just work away with him. You are limited where you can go with him, so I’m sure we’ll probably have to go handicapping before the end of the season. But if it was good ground at Cheltenham there’s the Royal & SunAlliance Chase.”
Amateur Rose Davidson gave Brave Vision a good ride to land the Bell’s Whisky Amateur Riders’ ‘Hands And Heels’ Handicap Hurdle.
Brave Vision was sent off at 12-1 and Miss Davidson always had the gelding prominent in the two-mile contest before going to the front approaching the penultimate flight.
Alistair Whillans’ charge jumped the last two hurdles better than his main challenger, Milton Star, and Miss Davidson kept him up to his work on the run-in to beat the Irish raider by two lengths.
Miss Davidson has now ridden five winner from 11 mounts this season and Whillans said: “That’s her first ride for me and she rides very well.”
Brave Vision’s performance came as no surprise to the Hawick-based trainer, who added: “This horse ran well on his first run back, after a long lay-off through injury, at Carlisle last time, and I knew he’d come on for the run.
“He doesn’t like the stick so I knew this ‘hands and heels’ would suit him.”
Place Above (9-4 favourite), a runaway winner at Sedgefield on Tuesday, overcame a 7lb penalty and some indifferent jumping to take the Gosforth Decorating And Building Services Handicap Chase by a length and a quarter from Why The Big Paws.
Afterwards owner-trainer Eric Elliott said: “He’s like a tank and if he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have got round. So he’ll have to brush up on his jumping.
“We’ll give him a rest now and find a race for him around Christmas.”
