AHOY SENOR AND BRAVEMANSGAME HEAD STARRY ENTRIES FOR

£250,000 CORAL GOLD CUP

Caption: Ahoy Senor wins the John Francome Novices Chase at Newbury in 2021

Top novices of last season among bumper entry of 56
9 Irish entries
3 previous winners of the race nominated

 

Ahoy Senor and Bravemansgame, among the top staying novice chasers of last season, are some of the stars entered in the £250,000 Coral Gold Cup, which will be run for the first time under its new sponsorship at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday 26 November 2022.

The pair feature among 56 entries for one of Britain’s premier jumps races, the showpiece event of the two-day Coral Gold Cup meeting staged at the Berkshire track on November 25 and 26.

Ireland’s champion jumps trainer, Willie Mullins trains four of the nine entries from Ireland, including Grade 1 winners Capodanno and Kemboy, while Britain’s champion trainer, Paul Nicholls has included 2020 Ladbrokes King George VI Chase winner, Frodon as well as Bravemansgame.

Nicky Henderson has Dusart and Chantry House among his team, while there is also an entry for Win My Wings, the Christian Williams-trained jumper who won the Coral Scottish Grand National last season.

The last three winners of the Coral Gold Cup, Cloudy Glen (2021), Cloth Cap (2020) and De Rasher Counter (2019) have also been nominated.

Ahoy Senor ran at the corresponding meeting in 2021 when he won the John Francome Novices’ Chase by 31 lengths. He ended his campaign by beating Fury Road, L’Homme Presse and Bravemansgame at Aintree in April and is due to meet Bravemansgame again when he reappears in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby this coming Saturday.

He has been included along with Corach Rambler, winner of the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham, by trainer Lucinda Russell. Her partner Peter Scudamore said: “We are very fortunate to have two horses that we can even talk about for the race. Ahoy Senor was very impressive when he ran at Newbury and my form man Paul McIvor thinks it’s a race made for Corach Rambler. I have to listen to him as well as look at the handicap weights.”

The Scudamore family has a long association with the Coral Gold Cup with Peter winning the race twice on Strands Of Gold (1988) and Chatam (1991) while son Tom has three wins to his name, Madison Du Berlais (2008), Sizing Tennessee (2018) and Cloth Cap (2020).

He added: “Dad [the late Michael Scudamore] rode Linwell who was second to Mandarin in the first running of the race. Tom has won it on three occasions, I rode the winner twice and I was with Nigel Twiston-Davies when Kings Road won the race.

“It’s always been one of my favourite races. Newbury is a fabulous, fair track and it’s a great thrill to have a runner and to ride in it. After the Grand National and Gold Cup, I see it as the most iconic race.”

Cloudy Glen, Cloth Cap and Major Dundee could represent the late Trevor Hemmings, whose colours have been carried to four successes following the wins of Trabolgan in 2005 and Many Clouds in 2015.

Other horses nominated are Aye Right, the runner-up in 2020, and Royale Pagaille, while Dan Skelton has entered three horses, Protektorat, Ashtown Lad and Le Milos, the last two his most likely challengers.

“Le Milos would be under strong consideration as would Ashtown Lad,” he said. “I hope to run Ashtown Lad on November 6 in an intermediate chase at Sandown and Le Milos will go to Bangor on November 9 for a handicap chase.

“I’m considering both, but I imagine one of them will run in the Coral Gold Cup and the other in the Becher Chase. I’ve yet to decide which way round.”

Coral’s David Stevens said: “We have a set of high-class entries for the first running of this famous race to carry the Coral name, with the market headed by the Grade One winner Ahoy Senor, currently 6-1, and Dusart, 8-1 to give trainer Nicky Henderson a fourth win in the race.”

Clerk of the Course, Keith Ottesen said: “The Coral Gold Cup is the pre-Christmas highlight of our National Hunt season at Newbury and it is fantastic to see such a high-quality group of entries. It’s particularly exciting to see strong Irish entries from Joseph O’Brien, Willie Mullins, Thomas Mullins, Mouse Morris and Henry de Bromhead, along with three previous winners of the race from this side of the Irish Sea.

“We are already looking forward to another thrilling renewal of this iconic race in front of a big crowd which really signals the start of the Festive season.”

Coral Gold Cup, sponsor’s latest odds: 6-1 Ahoy Senor, 8 Dusart, 10 Threeunderthrufive, 12 Ashtown Lad, Busselton, Capodanno, Corach Rambler, Gericault Roque, 14 Fiddlerontheroof, Major Dundee, 16 Bravemansgame, Chantry House, Fantastikas, French Dynamite, Le Milos, Protektorat, Velvet Elvis, Win My Wings, 20 Cloudy Glen, Enrilo, Fanion D’Estruval, Grumpy Charley, Happygolucky, Lord Accord, Revels Hill, Royale Pagaille, 25/1 Bar