Nov 2017
Meade considering Ladbrokes Trophy for A Genie In Abottle as weights are unveiled for £250,000 showpiece
The weights are unveiled today for the £250,000 G3 Ladbrokes Trophy, the highlight of the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday, December 2.
Topping the weights on 11st 12lb is the 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Coneygree (Mark Bradstock, 16/1 with Ladbrokes). A half-brother to 2011 Ladbrokes Trophy hero Carruthers, Coneygree was pulled-up on his seasonal reappearance in the G2 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on November 4 when sustaining an overreach but connections have subsequently revealed that the Ladbrokes Trophy could be a target for the 10-year-old. Second in the weights on 11st 11lb is Smad Place (Alan King, 20/1), winner of the Ladbrokes Trophy in 2015 and right back to form when successful in the G2 Old Roan Chase at Aintree on October 29.
Sharing favouritism at 8/1 with Ladbrokes are American (Harry Fry, 11st 4lb), who was impressive in winning all three of his starts last season and Total Recall (Willie Mullins IRE, 10st 8lb), successful in the JT McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National Handicap Chase at Limerick on October 8. Willie Mullins, Ireland’s champion Jump trainer, could also be represented by Acapella Bourgeois (10st 12lb, 16/1), a G2 scorer last season for former trainer Sandra Hughes plus Childrens List (10st 9lb, 33/1), Pleasant Company (10st 9lb, 33/1) and Polidam (9st 13lb).
Noel Meade is considering a tilt at the race with A Genie In Abottle (10st 13lb, 20/1). The progressive six-year-old, who is owned by Gigginstown House Stud, was a talented novice last season and ended the campaign with a good third behind stablemate Disko in a G1 contest at the Punchestown Festival.
A Genie In Abottle has a 100 per cent record from two starts this season, most recently defeating Tiger Roll (Gordon Elliott IRE, 10st 13lb, 25/1) by a length and a half in a Listed contest over just shy of three miles at Wexford on October 30.
Meade said today: “The Ladbrokes Trophy is a possibility for A Genie In Abottle and I certainly wouldn’t rule it out, but I will have to discuss it with the owners.
“He has come out of Wexford good, so we will see how he is between now and Newbury and see what we think.
“He likes soft ground and looks to have the right sort of profile for the Ladbrokes Trophy.”
Reigning champion trainer Nicky Henderson, seeking a fourth Ladbrokes Trophy victory, has four contenders to choose from, headed by Whisper (11st 4lb, 12/1),who was runner-up in novices’ contests at Cheltenham and Aintree last season. The other contenders from Seven Barrows are O O Seven (10st 13lb, 20/1), Beware The Bear (10st 7lb, 25/1) and Vyta Du Roc(10st 1lb, 25/1).
Other leading contenders include Singlefarmpayment (Tom George, 10st 8lb), a narrow runner-up in a G3 handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival last season, and Definitly Red (Brian Ellison, 11st 5lb, 16/1), who was third in the Charlie Hall Chase on Saturday.
Ladbrokes Trophy – Ladbrokes prices: 8/1 American, Total Recall; 12/1 Singlefarmpayment, Whisper; 16/1 Acapella Bourgeois, Coneygree, Definitly Red; 20/1 A Genie In Abottle , Alpha des Obeaux, O O Seven, Smad Place, Yala Enki; 25/1 Beware The Bear, Emerging Force, Mala Beach, Missed Approach, Polidam, Southfield Royale, Tiger Roll, Virgilio, Vyta du Roc; 33/1 As De Mee, Bigbadjohn, Braqueur d’Or, Carole’s Destrier, Champers On Ice, Childrens List, Cogry, Double Treasure, Label des Obeaux, Pilgrims Bay, Pleasant Company, Potters Legend, Present Man, Ptit Zig, Road To Riches, Royal Vacation, Shantou Flyer, Sizing Codelco, Theatre Guide, Traffic Fluide, Value At Risk, Vic de Touzaine, Vicente, Vieux Lion Rouge 40/1 Antony, Dark Flame, Double Ross, Flintham, General Principle, Kilcarry Bridge, Our Kaempfer, Lord Scoundrel; 50/1 Regal Encore, Rogue Angel, Roi des Francs, Thunder And Roses, Vino Griego, Wounded Warrior; 66/1 Perfect Candidate
Each-way ¼ odds 1-2-3-4
There is a scratchings deadline for the Ladbrokes Trophy on November 14, with the five-day confirmation stage on Monday, November 27.
The inaugural Ladbrokes Winter Carnival featuring the Ladbrokes Trophy, formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup, takes place on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 December 2017. The new sponsorship from Ladbrokes brings with it a larger prize pot for this year’s contenders with the two days now worth a total of £700,000 in prize money. The Ladbrokes Trophy alone has prize money of £250,000, an increase of £50,000 on 2016.
Since the handicap chase was first run as the Hennessy Gold Cup in 1957, it has become one of the major highlights of the Jump season with so many memorable performances over the last 60 years from the likes of Mill House, Arkle, Denman, Many Clouds and last year’s impressive winner, Native River.
The Ladbrokes Winter Carnival gets underway at Newbury on Friday, December 1, when the highlight is the £50,000 G2 Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle over three miles.
There is live coverage across both days of the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival. The broadcast will be on ITV4 on Friday, December 1 and ITV on Saturday, December 2, when The Opening Show is also hosted from Newbury, while Racing UK shows all races from the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival.
The Ladbrokes Trophy
Grade 3 handicap chase, £250,000 total prize fund. Newbury, Saturday, December 2. Three miles and two furlongs (3m 1f 214y). For four-year-olds and upwards. Penalties: after November 5, 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 31, entries revealed November 1 (60 entries). Weights revealed November 7, scratchings deadline November 14, five-day confirmation stage November 27, final declarations November 30. Maximum field 24, plus 2 reserves.
| Horse | Age | Wgt | Owner | Trainer |
| CONEYGREE | 10 | 11-12 | The Max Partnership | Mark Bradstock |
| SMAD PLACE (FR) | 10 | 11-11 | Mrs Peter Andrews | Alan King |
| DEFINITLY RED (IRE) | 8 | 11-05 | Mr P J Martin | Brian Ellison |
| SIZING CODELCO (IRE) | 8 | 11-05 | Ann & Alan Potts Limited | Colin Tizzard |
| AMERICAN (FR) | 7 | 11-04 | The Jago Family Partnership | Harry Fry |
| WHISPER (FR) | 9 | 11-04 | Walters Plant Hire Ltd | Nicky Henderson |
| PTIT ZIG (FR) | 8 | 11-03 | Barry Fulton & Chris Giles | Paul Nicholls |
| CAROLE’S DESTRIER | 9 | 11-01 | Mrs C Skipworth | Neil Mulholland |
| SHANTOU FLYER (IRE) | 7 | 11-01 | Carl Hinchy | Richard Hobson |
| THEATRE GUIDE (IRE) | 10 | 11-01 | Jean Bishop | Colin Tizzard |
| TRAFFIC FLUIDE (FR) | 7 | 11-00 | Galloping On The South Downs Partnership | Gary Moore |
| LABEL DES OBEAUX (FR) | 6 | 11-00 | David Sewell & Terry Warner | Alan King |
| VIEUX LION ROUGE (FR) | 8 | 10-13 | Prof Caroline Tisdall & Mr John Gent | David Pipe |
| PERFECT CANDIDATE (IRE) | 10 | 10-13 | ISL Recruitment | Fergal O’Brien |
| LORD SCOUNDREL (IRE) | 8 | 10-13 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| TIGER ROLL (IRE) | 7 | 10-13 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| O O SEVEN (IRE) | 7 | 10-13 | Christopher Hanbury | Nicky Henderson |
| A GENIE IN ABOTTLE (IRE) | 6 | 10-13 | Gigginstown House Stud | Noel Meade IRE |
| ACAPELLA BOURGEOIS (FR) | 7 | 10-12 | Slaneyville Syndicate | Willie Mullins IRE |
| YALA ENKI (FR) | 7 | 10-12 | Hills of Ledbury (Aga) | Venetia Williams |
| VICENTE (FR) | 8 | 10-11 | Trevor Hemmings | Paul Nicholls |
| ROAD TO RICHES (IRE) | 10 | 10-11 | Gigginstown House Stud | Noel Meade IRE |
| REGAL ENCORE (IRE) | 9 | 10-11 | J P McManus | Anthony Honeyball |
| DOUBLE TREASURE | 6 | 10-11 | Sir Chips Keswick | Jamie Snowden |
| ALPHA DES OBEAUX (FR) | 7 | 10-11 | Gigginstown House Stud | Mouse Morris IRE |
| ROI DES FRANCS (FR) | 8 | 10-11 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| MALA BEACH (IRE) | 9 | 10-10 | C Jones | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| ROYAL VACATION (IRE) | 7 | 10-10 | Mrs Jean R Bishop | Colin Tizzard |
| VIRGILIO (FR) | 8 | 10-10 | C J Edwards, D Futter, A H Rushworth | Dan Skelton |
| AS DE MEE (FR) | 7 | 10-10 | The Stewart Family & Judi Dench | Paul Nicholls |
| CHILDRENS LIST (IRE) | 7 | 10-09 | Susannah Ricci | Willie Mullins IRE |
| PLEASANT COMPANY (IRE) | 9 | 10-09 | Malcolm Denmark | Willie Mullins IRE |
| TOTAL RECALL (IRE) | 8 | 10-08 | Slaneyville Syndicate | Willie Mullins IRE |
| SINGLEFARMPAYMENT | 7 | 10-08 | N T Griffith & H M Haddock | Tom George |
| DOUBLE ROSS (IRE) | 11 | 10-08 | Options O Syndicate | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| OUR KAEMPFER (IRE) | 8 | 10-07 | Swanee River Partnership | Charlie Longsdon |
| BEWARE THE BEAR (IRE) | 7 | 10-07 | G B Barlow | Nicky Henderson |
| MISSED APPROACH (IRE) | 7 | 10-06 | Alan & Andrew Turner | Warren Greatrex |
| THUNDER AND ROSES (IRE) | 9 | 10-06 | Gigginstown House Stud | Mouse Morris IRE |
| BIGBADJOHN (IRE) | 8 | 10-05 | Nigel Morris | Rebecca Curtis |
| CHAMPERS ON ICE (IRE) | 7 | 10-04 | Professor Caroline Tisdall & Bryan Drew | David Pipe |
| KILCARRY BRIDGE (IRE) | 10 | 10-04 | Darraugh’s Choice Syndicate | John Ryan IRE |
| PRESENT MAN (IRE) | 7 | 10-03 | Woodhouse & Sutton | Paul Nicholls |
| GENERAL PRINCIPLE (IRE) | 8 | 10-02 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| VYTA DU ROC (FR) | 8 | 10-01 | Simon Munir & Isaac Souede | Nicky Henderson |
| WOUNDED WARRIOR (IRE) | 8 | 10-00 | Gigginstown House Stud | Noel Meade IRE |
| VIC DE TOUZAINE (FR) | 8 | 10-00 | A Brooks & G Moore | Venetia Williams |
| BRAQUEUR D’OR (FR) | 6 | 10-00 | Corsellis & Seyfried | Paul Nicholls |
| FLINTHAM | 8 | 10-00 | The Rasher Partnership | Mark Bradstock |
| COGRY | 8 | 10-00 | Graham and Alison Jelley | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| EMERGING FORCE (IRE) | 7 | 9-13 | Webb Holt Carpenter Tucker | Harry Whittington |
| POTTERS LEGEND | 7 | 9-13 | Mrs J May | Lucy Wadham |
| POLIDAM (FR) | 8 | 9-13 | Simon Munir/Isaac Souede | Willie Mullins IRE |
| SOUTHFIELD ROYALE | 7 | 9-13 | Angela Yeoman | Neil Mulholland |
| PILGRIMS BAY (IRE) | 7 | 9-12 | Clifford, Gosden & House | Neil Mulholland |
| ROGUE ANGEL (IRE) | 9 | 9-10 | Gigginstown House Stud | Mouse Morris IRE |
| DARK FLAME (IRE) | 8 | 9-08 | The Encore Partnership III | Richard Rowe |
| VINO GRIEGO (FR) | 12 | 9-08 | C E Stedman | Gary Moore |
| VALUE AT RISK | 8 | 9-06 | D M Huglin | Dan Skelton |
| ANTONY (FR) | 7 | 9-05 | The Winning Hand | Gary Moore |
60 entries
17 Irish-trained
To view a short video about the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival or to embed, please find below the following details;
To share: https://vimeo.com/240669236/e55efe3c46
To download: video file is below