Stage Star bound for Aintree after fine Cheltenham run

Stage Star will head to the Aintree Bowl at the Grand National festival following his gallant second in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham.

The nine-year-old tackled a trip in excess of three miles for the first time on the New course and was sent to the front by Harry Cobden.

He carried them along at the head of the field before being challenged by favourite L’Homme Presse two fences out.

He was giving Venetia Williams’ charge 4lb and it told on the run-in, as he finished three-quarters of a length adrift.

But Owners Group racing manager Dan Downie was delighted with the performance of the Paul Nicholls-trained Stage Star, who showed glimpses of the form that saw him win the Turners Novices’ Chase and Paddy Power Gold Cup in 2023.

Downie said: “He ran really well and was very much back to form, he jumped really well and travelled really well. He ran great. He was only beaten by a very good horse, we couldn’t be happier.

“I would think it is (his best run since winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup). Harry got off and said it is one of the best runs he’s ever had. He was delighted. It was just really good to see him back to form.

“He won’t go to Cheltenham, we’ll look to go to Aintree and get him fresh for that.”

Bond Broker is another Owners Group inmate of Nicholls in fine form and goes in search of a hat-trick at Huntingdon on Thursday.

Downie has high hopes for the six-year-old but is unsure about just how good he might be.

He added: “He’s a difficult horse to gauge in terms of how much improvement there is in him. But he seems to be learning all the time, so we’re hopeful with him. But at this stage there are no long-term plans with him.”

Meanwhile, Nicholls’ preparations at his Ditcheat base have been hit by heavy rain that has rendered some of his facilities unusable.

Nicholls told Betfair: “It was biblical rain yesterday. I’ve never in 33 years seen weather like it and the amount of rain.

“Our hill gallop is absolutely fine, so we can use the hill gallop. Our loops and flat gallop are literally under water.

“You’ve never seen water like it, so we haven’t been able to assess the full damage yet because we can’t get on there, but I’ve never had water on the gallops, certainly not like we saw yesterday.

“I was out last night with Rob, my gallops man, and several others and we just couldn’t believe what we were seeing.

“The damage water does is absolutely incredible. As I say, we’ve still got the hill gallop, that hasn’t been affected at all, because the way it is, you don’t get water hanging about as a flood – it runs either side of it.

“We just haven’t been able to assess the damage yet but it’s not good, it’s just one of those things.

“There’s no point hiding behind it and saying it’s all going to be OK. There’s a huge amount of damage which we’ll have to put right during the week. We can still use the hill gallop, we can still school, but it’s not ideal.”