Coral Trophy: Trio dispute Kempton favouritism

“He’s grand – he’s in great old form. He was pretty impressive the other day and we’ll have another go,” said the Llancarfan handler.

“We know he likes it round the track. He made a very bad mistake early last year – he stretched for the second and it was game over after that.

“We said before his last run that if we ran well, we wanted to try to get here. It’s a very competitive race, it’s full of very good horses and all we can do is have a damn good go.”

Having previously claimed the race with Gungadu (2008) and Rocky Creek (2015), champion trainer Paul Nicholls has a strong hand in his bid for a third success, with Saint Calvados also 11/2 while top-weight Frodon (8/1) and Enrilo (22/1) also feature.

Frodon drops in grade after finishing third in the King George and fifth in the Cotswold Chase on his two most recent outings, as does Saint Calvados after a fourth-placed finish in the Silviniaco Conti Chase. Enrilo, meanwhile, has not completed in his last three races.

Clondaw Castle has some big boots to fill as he bids to become trainer Tom George’s second dual Coral Trophy winner.

Clondaw Castle cruises to the Close Brothers Handicap Chase

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The three-mile contest has a prestigious roll of honour, with the great Desert Orchid (1990), the ill-fated Gloria Victis (2000) and two Grand National heroes in Rhyme ‘N’ Reason (1988) and Rough Quest (1996) all previous winners.

Only two horses have won the race twice, with Docklands Express claiming back-to-back victories in 1991 and 1992 before George’s popular grey Nacarat struck gold in 2009 and 2012.

Nacarat also won the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby and the Aintree Bowl for the Slad-based trainer, who has high hopes for Clondaw Castle in this weekend’s feature event.

He subsequently spent 14 months on the sidelines but made a promising return when second in Kempton’s Silviniaco Conti Chase in January, setting him up for a bid to regain his Kempton crown.

“He had a good comeback run. It was a nice run over what was probably an inadequate trip for him and on ground that was a bit softer than ideal,” said George.

“We know he likes the track and three miles and this has been our target. His comeback run proved he retains his ability and he’s been in great form since, so fingers crossed. Nacarat won it twice, so let’s hope Clondaw Castle can follow suit.”

⭕️Going Report⭕️

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Jacamar won at Kempton on Boxing Day last season and was victorious on his most recent appearance at Leicester. His trainer Milton Harris believes he could outrun his Coral Trophy betting odds of 22/1.

He said: “He’s not without a chance. He’s consistent, he ran well in a competitive race at Cheltenham before winning at Leicester and we’ve always had it in the back of our minds that he might be a three-miler.

“The ground conditions will be right for him and he seems in a really good place. It’s going to be hard to win, but it’s a very open race I would say.”

Killer Kane is another of the leading contenders at 10/1 – for more on his prospects, read the exclusive blog of trainer Joe Tizzard.

Coral Trophy betting odds

5/1 Cap Du Nord

11/2 Annsam, Saint Calvados

7/1 Our Power

8/1 Frodon

9/1 Clondaw Castle

10/1 Flegmatik, Killer Kane

12/1 Killer Clown

20/1 Bar

View the latest horse racing odds

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication