Matt Brocklebank assesses the credentials of the three Fighting Fifth Hurdle contenders outside of Constitution Hill and The New Lion.
Picking up the scraps after the cases have already been made for Constitution Hill and The New Lion earlier in the week may have the look of a relatively thankless task, but try telling connections of Golden Ace the Fighting Fifth is a two-horse race and the three outsiders in Saturday’s field have no chance of causing a stir.
You’ll probably get a Unibet Champion Hurdle trophy waved about in your face.
Let’s start with the mare, who gave trainer Jeremy Scott a moment he’ll never forget when she picked up the pieces under Lorcan Williams following the falls of Constitution Hill and State Man at Cheltenham in March.
Gordon Elliott’s classy Brighterdaysahead ran flat on the day too, don’t forget, so it’s safe to say the stars really did align for Golden Ace although her subsequent four and three-quarter-length second behind State Man at the Punchestown Festival the following month proved she wasn’t out of place in such exalted company.
The comeback run at Wetherby earlier this month, however, was lamentable. Sent off 4/11 fav in a match with Kateira, she was in trouble a fair way out, never really picked up when asked and was reported to have scoped dirty post-race.
Golden Ace is the only horse in the Fighting Fifth field to have made any sort of appearance this autumn, which is something her supporters can cling to, but even accounting for the assumption she’s back to full health, she’s probably going to need a spot more big-race drama if another Grade 1 prize is to land in her lap this weekend.
Nemean Lion – supplemented into the race at a cost of £2,430 at the start of the week – need only pop around to collect £3,131 for finishing fifth, so it looks a very reasonable little shot to nothing from trainer Kerry Lee.
He’s won Grade 2 races at Wincanton and Fontwell during the past couple of seasons, he goes well fresh and he stays a good bit further than the bare two miles as well, so surely his rider Conor O’Farrell will look to make the running and press on sooner rather than later.
He can’t win if the big guns show up but, as already touched upon, the prize money is good and if he’s out in front then at least he’ll likely be out of trouble if Constitution Hill’s jumping goes to pot again.
But let’s be frank – the only threat to the big two in the betting on Saturday is in reality the Willie Mullins-trained Anzadam.
Mullins has never won a Fighting Fifth and the runners he’s sent to Newcastle since this event was switched from being a handicap have finished only third, third and sixth, the last-named being Mystical Power who went off joint-favourite last year.
So the alarm bells are ringing somewhat.
But this is precisely what the champion trainer should be doing and it’s something we see countless times from Aidan O’Brien in the springtime on the Flat – chuck an unknown quantity into a British ‘trial’ in the hope of causing some mayhem, knowing full well you’ve stronger candidates safely tucked away at home for later in the campaign.
Not only will we learn where Anzadam might fit into the overall two-mile hurdle picture, the raw and inexperienced five-year-old will probably learn a great deal from the experience of racing against The New Lion and Constitution Hill as well.
It’s another shot to nothing as far as I can see, yet this one adds a more robust layer of intrigue.
Formerly with Arnaud Chaille-Chaille in France, the son of Authorized was strong at the finish when winning his two hurdle starts over there and he’s also 2-2 in the colours of Marie and Joe Donnelly since moving to Mullins, having slammed Kala Conti (rated 138 at the time) six and a half lengths at Fairyhouse 12 months ago before returning to the fold with an equally commanding 11-length defeat of Beacon Edge (146) at Naas in January.
WATCH: Anzadam saunters home in the Grade 3 Limestone Lad Hurdle
So it isn’t just The New Lion bringing an unblemished record to the table on Saturday.
But is this horse good enough? That’s the blindingly obvious question mark and few would be able to answer with much certainty, even though Timeform still have him 10lb below The New Lion on their master ratings.
Is his hurdling slick enough? He kicked over a few flights in the mud at Naas. Is this an embryonic chaser we are looking at? And why no hood, something he’s worn for all four hurdles starts to date but is left off for the comeback run this weekend?
It’s why they run the races I suppose – to find out – and in a present jumps world of walkovers and too many literal two-horse races, we should all be glad for the inclusion of Saturday’s supposed outsiders – Nemean Lion, Golden Ace and the quite captivating Anzadam.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
