Tiutchev at the double

Lydia Hislop13 April 2012

It was on these pages early last month that Nicky Henderson gave his first indication last year's Ascot Chase winner, Tiutchev, was back on song. In fact, the Lambourn trainer boldly described him as "two stone better than last year".

Punters who took note were d u ly rewarded when Tiutchev made light of topweight in a Sandown handicap earlier this month. Against inferior rivals, albeit conceding upwards of a stone, he was insultingly returned 3-1 joint-favourite - candidate for bargain price of the season.

His odds for the Queen Mother Champion Chase promptly halved and have been tumbling since. Now 4-1 third favourite behind market-leader Edredon Bleu and Flagship Uberalles, he can find tomorrow's Ritz Club Ascot Chase a largely straightforward steppingstone to his Cheltenham Festival target.

Henderson had found Tiutchev slow to recover from a summer bout of colic - fearing his speed had gone, even entering him in the Cheltenham Gold Cup over 3m 2f. That zip is back, and certainly this 2m 3f trip holds no fears. He was a tad inconsistent last season, but vibes are he's back to his best.

Banker Count is the only conceivable danger. Improved out of all recognition as a reformed dodgy jumper this season, he's also twice finished weakly over three miles. He may excel at this trip and finish a fair deal closer to Tiutchev than official figures would suggest.

With the Ted Walsh-trained pair, Commanche Court and Papillon, likely to bypass this event, Exit To Wave can win the wide-open battle for third. He's strictly weighted to reverse last November's Wetherby form with Banker Count, but he hasn't raced since and may need the run.

The Amlin Reynoldstown Novices' Chase - and the Cheltenham Festival's Royal & SunAlliance Chase - has been made the poorer for the absence of French raider, Heros Collonges. Trainer Guillaume Macaire announced yesterday that his recent impressive Kempton winner has been sidelined with a leg injury.

Valley Henry also misses the race in favour of the Fernbank Novices' Chase over five furlongs shorter, later on the same card. His trainer, Paul Nicholls, believes aggressive tactics in a pacier race will prevent his charge from losing concentration - a trait that has seen him fail to complete on his last two starts.

That leaves Henderson's Artic Jack to concede weight all round. His chasing career began with a stutter when beaten by Father McCarten, a rival again here, at this track last November. He then tipped up at Haydock, but has been making eyecatching progress - stepped up in trip - in two starts since.

When young novice chasers begin to get their act together, there's no telling how much they can improve. Flagship Uberalles and Looks Like Trouble are topclass recent examples - the former got better with every race and the latter suddenly revealed his true potential once jumping flaws were ironed out.

Henderson won this event last year with current Gold Cup hope, Bacchanal, and Artic Jack may also have a touch of class that admirable Carryonharry lacks.

Martin Pipe's charge has won all three chase starts, beating little of substance but comfortably. Perhaps more of a slogger, drying ground is not in his favour.

Highly regarded Chives, brought along quietly by handler Henrietta Knight, may prove the main threat.

He may be better than he's shown so far given a strong pace, but of his rivals here only The Granby has dabbled with front-running.

Consequently, they may crawl. Jimmy Tennis could struggle under a penalty on his UK debut.

Ascot selections

1.30, Amlin Reynoldstown Novices' Chase: 1, Artic Jack; 2, Chives; 3, Carryonharry. 2.35, Ritz Club Ascot Chase: 1, Tiutchev; 2, Banker Count; 3, Exit To Wave.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in