Wyck Hill return is looking too late for National

EVEN though he is jump racing’s biggest and most successful owner, JP McManus knows the sport offers no guarantees.

Take Wyck Hill, who McManus purchased in December 2012 for a substantial sum after an impressive win at Ascot suggested that this David Bridgwater-trained chaser was a Grand National horse in the making.

Backed into favouritism to take Kempton’s big handicap chase on this corresponding weekend 12 months ago, the horse was beaten over 40 lengths – even with the services of AP McCoy – and a magnanimous McManus wandered across to Wyck Hill’s crest-fallen stable lad, offered a cash ‘tip’ for his hard work and said: “Don’t worry son, there will be other days.”

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Fast forward 12 months and Wyck Hill is back in the winner’s enclosure after taking the long-distance Betfed Eider Chase at Newcastle on Saturday under jockey Tom Scudamore, with the McManus-owned and Jonjo O’Neill-trained Smoking Aces a close second.

Because the victory came after publication of the weights for the Crabbie’s Grand National, this lightly-raced 10-year-old is unlikely to make the 40-runner cut – he is 96th on the list of entries.

Yet the relief etched across the face of Bridgwater was self-evident. Even though McManus is a man of great loyalty, it has pained him that it has taken so long for Wyck Hill to recover from that Kempton race when he was struck into.

“That was awesome,” said Bridgwater, who remains bullish about the prospects of his Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup contender The Giant Bolster.

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“Tom knows him so well and he’s seen out the trip well there. He’s been given a chance by the handicapper and the Grand National will be the aim if he gets in.

“That’s my first winner for JP and having a horse for him is like getting the Royal seal of approval. If he doesn’t get in the National we’ll take that, it was a big race today and it’s great to win it. He’s a big slow boat and, in hindsight, this race was made for him.”

Next year’s Eider line-up could include Sue Smith’s Pinerolo, who showed great resilience under a tenacious Ryan Mania to take the £18,500 novice chase on the Newcastle under-card and allow the horse to follow-up his wide-margin win at Catterick two weeks ago.

“He had to dig very deep today, Ryan said it was very hard work,” said Smith. “What he does is jump and gallop, on that evidence he’ll stay further and we may be back here next year for the Eider.”

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Pinerolo’s success enabled Richard Longley’s Leeds-based McGoldrick Partnership to follow up victory with Scottish National hopeful Fill The Power at Wetherby last Tuesday.

Pinerolo was well beaten at Wetherby on December 27 in a three-runner race by Donald McCain’s Indian Castle, who subsequently won at Cheltenham’s Trials Day, and Oliver Sherwood’s runaway race winner Many Clouds, who is now a leading contender for next month’s RSA Chase at the National Hunt Festival. The form, therefore, appears to be rock solid.

There was further success at Newcastle for Yorkshire trainers when Brian Ellison’s Yorkist recorded a fourth win of the campaign with young Malton-based conditional Nathan Moscrop on board.

Beaten in the Scottish County Hurdle when ridden by AP McCoy, Ellison said: “He’s done very well this season. Nathan rides him well and has won all four on him. He rides him every day so he knows him inside out.

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“It was a hot race last time and he didn’t have Nathan’s claim. AP said he’d be better on a galloping track.

“He’ll go chasing one day.”

The Ramblin Kid, trained by Middleham’s Micky Hammond, produced a minor shock in the novice hurdle.

Another chaser in the making is Tim Easterby’s Dark Dune who was an impressive hurdles winner under James Reveley.

Meanwhile, the British challenge in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle, the opening race of the Cheltenham Festival, will be headed by the Paul Nicholls-trained Irving, who ran away with the Grade Two Dovecote Hurdle at Kempton.

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Despite taking off too early at the final flight in the Sky Bet-sponsored race, jockey Nick Scholfield was beaming afterwards and said this horse will be even better on less arduous ground – a key point if the going at Cheltenham continues to dry out.