The weights are unveiled today for the £200,000 Grade 3 Ladbrokes Trophy, the highly prestigious three and a quarter mile handicap chase which takes place at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday 28 November, day two of the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival.

Topofthegame (Paul Nicholls), the 5/1 market leader with Ladbrokes has been allotted the top weight of 11st 12lb following his successful novice chase campaign in the 2018/19 season and remains on target for the Newbury showpiece with a gallop at Newbury Racecourse scheduled for Tuesday 17 November.

The progressive chaser will be aiming to treat viewers to another special performance when trying to win the Ladbrokes Trophy, and like Denman, part-owned by Paul Barber, he will be coming back from an injury which kept him off the track in the 2019/20 season. His trainer will be looking to win the race for a fourth time, making him only the second trainer (behind Fulke Walwyn) to complete the feat.

Nicholls other entries include Secret Investor (11st 6lb), Yala Enki (11st 3lb) and Truckers Lodge (11st 2lb) and Danny Whizzbang (10st 11lbs) who runs this weekend.

Following a second at Wetherby on Saturday in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase, Vinndication remains on target for the Ladbrokes Trophy, having been allocated a weight of 11st 8lb and would provide trainer, Kim Bailey with a first time win in the race.

Bailey said: “We were pleased with his run last Saturday behind Cyrname and its good to see he has not gone up too much in the weights. All being well, he will remain on target for the Ladbrokes Trophy at the end of November.”

Scottish based trainer, Harriet Graham could be looking at having not only her first runner in the race, but also her very first runner at the Berkshire track. Yet to send a horse down to Newbury, Aye Right could become her first representative at the course and has been allocated a weight of 10st 11lb following a good run in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase on Saturday, finishing third. 

Graham commented: “The target has always been the Ladbrokes Trophy and it remains the premier target, but the reality is everything keeps changing. He (Aye Right) doesn’t and we don’t mind travelling, but it will depend on the restrictions in place as the owners are desperate to watch him. Unfortunately, it may just be easier for us to run him closer to home, but Newbury at the end of November remains the number one target.”

Ladbrokes spokesman Jon Lees said: “Topofthegame is going to have to do a Denman, the last horse to win the race off top weight, if he is to land the 2020 Ladbrokes Trophy. Given Paul Nicholls managed to pull off that feat twice with ‘The Tank’, Topofthegame couldn’t be in safer hands. That’s why the horse is 5/1 favourite.”

 

**Ladbrokes Trophy betting**

5/1 Topofthegame, 8/1 Copperhead, 12/1 Aye Right, Imperial Aura, 14/1 The Conditional, Vinndication, 16/1 Black Op, Danny Whizzbang, Kildsart, Sam Brown, 20/1 De Rasher Counter, Hold The Note, Regal Encore, Secret Investor, Siruh Du Lac, Two For Gold, 25/1 bar

 

The full list of entries and their weights can be found below.

Horse	Weight	Trainer	Owner
Topofthegame	11st 12lb	Paul Nicholls	Mr Chris Giles & Mr & Mrs PK Barber
Ballyoptic	11st 9lb	Nigel Twiston-Davies	Mills & Mason Partnership
Vinndication	11st 8lb	Kim Bailey	Moremoneythan
Secret Investor	11st 6lb	Paul Nicholls	Hills of Ledbury Ltd
Beware The Bear	11st 5lb	Nicky Henderson	Mr G.B. Barlow
Imperial Aura	11st 4lb	Kim Bailey	Imperial Racing Partnership 2016
Yala Enki	11st 3lb	Paul Nicholls	Hills of Ledbury Ltd
Truckers Lodge	11st 2lb	Paul Nicholls	Gordon & Su Hall
De Rasher Counter	11st 2lb	Emma Lavelle	Makin’ Bacon Partnership
Kildisart	11st 2lb	Ben Pauling	Mr Simon Munir & Mr Isaac Souede
OK Corral	11st 0lb	Nicky Henderson	Mr John P. McManus
Sam Brown	10st 13lb	Anthony Honeyball	Mr T.C. Frost
Slate House	10st 13lb	Colin Tizzard	Eric Jones, Geoff Nichols, John Romans
Copperhead	10st 13lb	Colin Tizzard	Mrs G.C. Prichard
Regal Encore	10st 12lb	Anthony Honeyball	Mr John P. McManus
Aye Right	10st 11lb	Harriet Graham	Geoff and Elspeth Adam
Mister Malarky	10st 11lb	Colin Tizzard	Wendy & Malcolm Hezel
Black Op	10st 11lb	Tom George	Mr R.S. Brookhouse
Siruh du Lac	10st 11lb	David Pipe	John White & Anne Underhill
Wholestone	10st 10lb	Nigel Twiston-Davies	Mr Simon Munir & Mr Isaac Souede
Two For Gold	10st 9lb	Kim Bailey	May We Never Be Found Out Partnership 2
Spiritofthegames	10st 9lb	Dan Skelton	Mr N.W. Lake
The Conditional	10st 8lb	David Bridgwater	Mr P.J. Cave
La Bague Au Roi	10st 6lb	Warren Greatrex	Mrs Julien Tuner & Mr Andrew Merriam
Blaklion	10st 6lb	Dan Skelton	Darren & Annaley Yates
Hold The Note	10st 6lb	Mick Channon	Mr T.P. Radford
Danny Whizzbang	10st 6lb	Paul Nicholls	Mrs Angela Tincknell
The Hollow Ginge	10st 5lb	Nigel Twiston-Davies	The Ginge Army
The Mighty Don	10st 3lb	Nick Gifford	Golden Rose Partnership
Potterman	10st 3lb	Alan King	James & Jean Potter Ltd
Benatar	10st 3lb	Gary Moore	Mr Ashley Head
Flying Angel	10st 1lb	Nigel Twiston-Davies	Mr R.J. Rexton
Champagne Court	10st 1lb	Jeremy Scott	Mr IF Gosden and Mr DJ Coles
Coo Star Sivola	10st 0lb	Nick Williams	Babbit Racing
Kapcorse	9st 13lb	Paul Nicholls	Mr John P. McManus
Ardlethen	9st 13lb	Dan Skelton	Mike and Eileen Newbould
Cloth Cap	9st 11lb	Jonjo O’Neill	Mr Trevor Hemmings
Django Django	9st 10lb	Jonjo O’Neill	Martin Broughton & Friends 5
Lamanver Pippin	9st 7lb	Colin Tizzard	Dr Donna Christensen