Strong entries for Hennessy Gold Cup (From This Is Wiltshire)

Strong entries for Hennessy Gold Cup

8:20pm Wednesday 5th November 2008

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A total of 54 horses have been entered for the Hennessy Gold Cup, one of the highlights of the jump season, which takes place at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday November 29.

The race was won last year by Denman, who went on to win the 2008 totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup in emphatic style and has also seen previous legends such as One Man, Arkle, Mill House and Mandarin storm to victory.

Leading the way is this year’s John Smith’s Grand National winner Comply Or Die for trainer David Pipe, who has also entered Dom d’Orgeval and Madison Du Berlais. The nine-year-old ran in the 2005 renewal of the race, where he finished fourth behind Trabolgan, and, following an injury that kept him off the course for just under two years, he won both the Eider Chase at Newcastle and the Aintree showpiece last season.

Paul Nicholls has entered seven from Ditcheat in a bid to win the race twice in a row, including Star De Mohaison, Big Buck’s, Dear Villez, Gungadu, My Will, Turko and Ornais. The first in this septet won the Royal and Sun Alliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival back in 2006 and a month later he was victorious in the John Smith’s Mildmay Novices’ Chase at the Grand National Meeting, which was won this year by Big Buck’s. Star De Mohaison has only had one start in the last two years over hurdles, when he was beaten into third place by Hills Of Aran. Gungadu was the winner of the Grade 3 Racing Post Chase at Kempton earlier this year and Dear Villez is already a winner this season in Ireland in the Ladbrokes.com Munster National Handicap Chase.

Nigel Twiston-Davies always has a great start to the season and this year has been no exception with Knowhere winning the Grade 2 intercasino.co.uk Old Roan Chase at Aintree last Sunday, the first race of the 2008/09 Order of Merit. The 10-year-old is entered in the Hennessy Gold Cup along with Ollie Magern, who was second in the 2004 Hennessy, Battlecry, Imperial Comander, Petite Margot and Naunton Brook.

Exotic Dancer put in an impressive performance at Aintree last Sunday, when finishing second to Knowhere and he also receives an entry for the 2m3f handicap. His trainer Jonjo O’Neill has also entered this year’s Royal and Sun Alliance winner Albertas Run alongside Butler’s Cabin, Don’t Push It and Nor’not’east.

Useful novices from last season who are entered include Air Force One, winner of the Grade 1 Champion Novices’ Chase at the Punchestown Festival and Joe Lively, who ran consistently throughout last year’s season with wins in the Stan James Nigel Clark Feltham Novices’ Chase and the Worcester Novices' Chase at Newbury.

Ireland holds seven of the entries including Afistfullofdollars, the consistent Mister Top Notch, and Slim Pickings.

The Hennessy Gold Cup is the oldest commercially sponsored sporting event in Europe and is British racing’s most enduring partnership having first been run in 1957. The race is now run over a distance of 3 miles 2 and a half furlongs and the prize money for the winner has increased from the original £5,272 to £150,000. A parade of past winners will take place before the country’s best runners and riders set off in an exhilarating race over the 21 fences all aiming to win one of the most esteemed races in the Jumps calendar.

With three days of top class action and entertainment, the Winter Festival promises to provide treble the fun, treble the action and treble the atmosphere.

For tickets and information visit www.newbury-racecourse.co.uk or call 01635 40015.

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