Elegant Escape and Thomas Patrick among 42 still on Ladbrokes Trophy trail

The countdown to the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival at Newbury continues today with the unveiling of the latest acceptors for the feature £250,000 Ladbrokes Trophy, the highly-prestigious three and a quarter mile handicap chase which takes place at on Saturday, December 1, day two of the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival.

Heading the market at 6/1 with Ladbrokes is Elegant Escape (Colin Tizzard, 11st 2lb, including a 4lb penalty), who made a pleasing return to action when defeating Thomas Patrick (Tom Lacey, 10st 9lb, 7/1 with Ladbrokes) by half a length in the Listed Future Stars Intermediate Chase over three miles at Sandown Park on November 11, a race in which Coo Star Sivola (Nick Williams, 10st 10lb, 25/1) finished third and Terrefort (Nicky Henderson, 11st 5lb, 14/1) fourth.

The Tizzard stable, based on the Dorset-Somerset border, is seeking its second Ladbrokes Trophy success following on from the victory of Native River in 2016.

Joe Tizzard, assistant trainer to his father, commented: “Elegant Escape did very well at Sandown on Sunday. He is a horse we hold in high regard and has grown into his frame really well.

“He stays very well and he picked up nicely at Sandown.

“We have been waiting for the rain to come with a lot of our horses and he really appreciated the conditions at Sandown.

“The Ladbrokes Trophy is the aim with him now and hopefully he will improve for the run.

“He is a second-season chaser and has a similar profile to Native River when he won the race in 2016.

“We wanted to get a prep run into him and this was our last chance to run him and he couldn’t have gone any better.

“He will improve for this run and Newbury does not inconvenience him as he has won at the track.

“The Ladbrokes Trophy has been the plan for a while.”

Tom Lacey, who is based in Herefordshire, is eager to have another crack at Elegant Escape and is also preparing Thomas Patrick for the Ladbrokes Trophy.

Lacey said: “Thomas Patrick ran a great race at Sandown on Sunday. He jumped brilliantly and Richard Johnson was really happy with him.

“My horses always improve for their first run as they are never fully wound up. He can only improve from that and we have a solid foundation from which to now build our season up.

“The Ladbrokes Trophy is a real possibility for him now. I saw the weather forecasts suggest there is no rain for a couple of weeks which would not be ideal. That ground was fine for us on Sunday and if it came up good at Newbury, we would probably give the race a swerve, so we will just see how the ground is.

“He is a very accurate jumper and he is quick over his fences which would stand him in good stead in a race like the Ladbrokes Trophy.”

Following today’s scratchings’ deadline for the Ladbrokes Trophy, the weights are still headed by Elegant Escape’s stable companion Thistlecrack (11st 12lb, 16/1).

The Ladbrokes Trophy was captured by an Irish-trained horse, Total Recall, for the first time in 37 years in 2017 and there are 11 remaining Irish contenders.

Total Recall (Willie Mullins, 11st 3lb, 16/1) is one of eight remaining entries for Ireland’s champion trainer Willie Mullins along with Al Boum Photo (11st 6lb, 12/1), Kemboy (11st 4lb, 16/1), Rathvinden (11st 1lb, 25/1), Invitation Only (10st 13lb, 25/1), Pairofbrowneyes (10st 8lb, 16/1), Up For Review (10st 7lb, 14/1) and Isleofhopendreams (10st 5lb, 14/1).

The next acceptances for the Ladbrokes Trophy are at the five-day confirmation stage on Monday, November 26.

Ladbrokes Trophy, Ladbrokes bet:

6/1 Elegant Escape

7/1 Thomas Patrick

12/1 Al Boum Photo

14/1 Terrefort, Up For Review, Ms Parfois, Isleofhopendreams    

16/1 Thistlecrack, Don Poli, Un Temps Pour Tout, Kemboy, Total Recall, Dingo Dollar, Pairofbrowneyes, Vyta du Roc, Last Goodbye, Rene’s Girl, Calett Mad, The Young Master   

20/1 Virgilio, Black Corton, American, Yala Enki, West Approach  

25/1 Clan des Obeaux, Rathvinden, Otago Trail, Invitation Only, Javert, Coo Star Sivola, Step Back, Sizing Tennessee, Go Conquer, Allysson Monterg, Full Irish

33/1 Monbeg Notorious, The Dutchman, Beware The Bear, Label des Obeaux, Flying Angel      

50/1 Regal Encore, Rock The Kasbah

To view or embed a short promotional film about the 2018 Ladbrokes Winter Carnival, please click here – https://bit.ly/2CSa4pL

The Ladbrokes Trophy

Grade 3 handicap chase, £250,000 total prize fund. Newbury, Saturday, December 1. Three miles and two furlongs (3m 1f 214y). For four-year-olds and upwards. Penalties: after November 4, a winner of a chase 4lb, a winner of two chases 7lb – no penalty to increase a horse’s weight above 11st 12lb. Entries closed October 30, entries revealed October 31 (56 entries, 1 subsequently scratched). Weights revealed November 7, scratchings deadline November 13 (42 remain), five-day confirmation stage November 26, final declarations November 29. Maximum field 24, plus 2 reserves.

Horse Age Wgt Owner Trainer
THISTLECRACK 10 11-12 John and Heather Snook Colin Tizzard 
DON POLI (IRE) 9 11-07 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE
AL BOUM PHOTO (FR) 6 11-06 Mrs J Donnelly Willie Mullins IRE
TERREFORT (FR) 5 11-05 Simon Munir & Isaac Souede Nicky Henderson 
UN TEMPS POUR TOUT (IRE) 9 11-05 Professor Caroline Tisdall & Bryan Drew David Pipe 
VIRGILIO (FR) 9 11-04 C J Edwards, D Futter, A H Rushworth Dan Skelton 
BLACK CORTON (FR) 7 11-04 The Brooks, Stewart Families & J Kyle Paul Nicholls 
CLAN DES OBEAUX (FR) 6 11-04 Mr & Mrs P Barber, G Mason, Sir A Ferguson Paul Nicholls 
KEMBOY (FR) 6 11-04 Supreme Racing/Brett Graham/Ken Sharp Willie Mullins IRE
TOTAL RECALL (IRE) 9 11-03 Slaneyville Syndicate Willie Mullins IRE
ELEGANT ESCAPE (IRE) 6 11-02 (inc 4lb ex) J P Romans Colin Tizzard 
AMERICAN (FR) 8 11-01 The Jago Family Partnership Harry Fry 
RATHVINDEN (IRE) 10 11-01 R A Bartlett Willie Mullins IRE
REGAL ENCORE (IRE) 10 11-00 J P McManus Anthony Honeyball 
OTAGO TRAIL (IRE) 10 10-13 Marie Shone Venetia Williams 
INVITATION ONLY (IRE) 7 10-13 Andrea & Graham Wylie Willie Mullins IRE
MONBEG NOTORIOUS (IRE) 7 10-12 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE
JAVERT (IRE) 9 10-11 Axom LII Emma Lavelle 
YALA ENKI (FR) 8 10-11 Hills of Ledbury (Aga) Venetia Williams 
COO STAR SIVOLA (FR) 6 10-10 Babbit Racing Nick Williams 
STEP BACK (IRE) 8 10-10 Cracker and Smodge Partnership Mark Bradstock 
DINGO DOLLAR (IRE) 6 10-09 M Warren J Holmes R Kidner & J Wright Alan King 
THE DUTCHMAN (IRE) 8 10-09 SprayClad UK Colin Tizzard 
THOMAS PATRICK (IRE) 6 10-09 David Kellett Tom Lacey 
SIZING TENNESSEE (IRE) 10 10-09 Ann & Alan Potts Limited Colin Tizzard 
BEWARE THE BEAR (IRE) 8 10-09 G B Barlow Nicky Henderson 
GO CONQUER (IRE) 9 10-08 Paul & Clare Rooney Nigel Twiston-Davies 
PAIROFBROWNEYES (IRE) 9 10-08 Fibbage Syndicate Willie Mullins IRE
VYTA DU ROC (FR) 9 10-08 Simon Munir & Isaac Souede Nicky Henderson 
LAST GOODBYE (IRE) 7 10-08 Last Goodbye Syndicate Liz Doyle IRE
ROCK THE KASBAH (IRE) 8 10-08 Diana Whateley Philip Hobbs 
LABEL DES OBEAUX (FR) 7 10-07 David Sewell & Terry Warner Alan King 
UP FOR REVIEW (IRE) 9 10-07 Andrea & Graham Wylie Willie Mullins IRE
MS PARFOIS (IRE) 7 10-07 M R Chapman Anthony Honeyball 
ISLEOFHOPENDREAMS 11 10-05 Kilbroney Racing Willie Mullins IRE
RENE’S GIRL (IRE) 8 10-05 Andy & Sharon Measham Dan Skelton 
ALLYSSON MONTERG (FR) 8 10-05 David Fox Richard Hobson 
FLYING ANGEL (IRE) 7 10-03 R J Rexton Nigel Twiston-Davies 
WEST APPROACH 8 10-03 John and Heather Snook Colin Tizzard 
CALETT MAD (FR) 6 10-02 Simon Munir & Isaac Souede Nigel Twiston-Davies 
FULL IRISH (IRE) 7 9-10 N Mustoe Emma Lavelle 
THE YOUNG MASTER 9 9-10 Mike Burbidge & The Old Masters Neil Mulholland 

42 entries remain after November 13 scratchings deadline

11 Irish-trained

THE FOLLOWING 13 HORSES HAVE BEEN SCRATCHED: SNOW FALCON (IRE), ONE FOR ARTHUR (IRE), MISTER WHITAKER (IRE), WILLOUGHBY COURT (IRE), JANIKA (FR), PRESENT MAN (IRE), ADRIEN DU PONT (FR), ROCKLANDER (IRE), SPLASH OF GINGE, FINAL NUDGE (IRE), EL BANDIT (IRE), BRAQUEUR D’OR (FR), SOLIGHOSTER (FR)

SCRATCHED BEFORE PUBLICATION OF WEIGHTS: BALLYOPTIC (IRE)