3 minute read

L’Homme Presse ready to tee up his Ascot bid following Lingfield success.

The L'Homme Presse team are ready to tee up their Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup bid in the Grade 1 Ascot Chase on Saturday.

The Venetia Williams-trained contender took the world by storm when winning the Paddy Power Novices' Chase [The Dipper] at Cheltenham last year. The nine-year-old looked set to play a major role when unseating Charlie Deutsch in the 2023 King George VI Chase last year and is arguably the strongest British-trained Gold Cup contender after returning in style to claim the Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield last month.

Andy Edwards, who co-owns L'Homme Presse with Peter and Patricia Pink, said: "We're very calm and relaxed and looking forward to it,"

"The horse is well and it's exciting to be in a Grade 1 chase at Ascot."

Edwards added: "When I was young and thought about owning a racehorse, days like Saturday are what dreams are made of. Footballers want to play in the FA Cup Final at Wembley and for me to be in a Grade One chase at Ascot is a privilege. Although everyone wants to talk about the Gold Cup, this is its own race in its own right and deserves proper merit.

"Cheltenham is obviously his end goal, but it is not the be-all and end-all. It may be the Olympics of our sport and where we want to get to, but there are lots of fantastic opportunities on the way and as we found out last year, you have to take your opportunities, because your dreams could be cut short very quickly – you can't put your eggs in one basket."

Only four will head to post for the Saturday feature but both Pic D'Orhy and Ahoy Senor will ensure stiff opposition to Andy Edwards' charge. The two-time former Grade 1- winners both hold strong claims this weekend, but Edwards is hopeful the race will be run to suit.

He said: "Very good horses are in there – they have speed and like to run from the front".

"When we beat Pic D'Orhy in the Scilly Isles, that horse wasn't himself and didn't suit the heavy ground and track maybe. Ascot will suit him much better, and he's already won there earlier on this season.

"Ahoy Senor is a Grade 1 winner who beat us at Aintree, and he came second to us in the Brown Advisory. He clearly goes better after Christmas, and it is his time of year to start coming to himself.

"I think it will end up a proper race, just like Lingfield. There might only have been two horses in contention from eight fences out, but the race between L'Homme Presse and Protektorat was full on – it wasn't an easy sprint finish like Galopin Des Champs had at Leopardstown recently. I'm sure Saturday will be the same."

The Paul Nicholls-trained Pic D'Orhy will have plenty of supporters and his Lambourn-based handler is hoping for a bid this weekend.

The Ditcheat handler said: "He won at Ascot first up but probably wasn't at his best there and then probably produced a career-best last time when giving 3lb to Banbridge. That was a really good run and he's in good form and runs to a good consistent level."

"He's just a high-class horse who runs to a good level."

He added: "It's a good race with L'Homme Presse in there but it'll be interesting. Obviously, he [L'Homme Presse] ran in some good races last season, he's a good horse and ran very well the other day at Lingfield off the back of having a setback. He's a smart horse but he only beat Protektorat the other day and he couldn't beat Hitman on Saturday in the Denman. So, you could look at the form and say perhaps he was flattered a little bit at Lingfield,"

"Ultimately L'Homme Presse is out on the road to the Gold Cup, so he obviously stays very well but Ascot is a stiff two-mile five and the ground is not exactly going to be quick so stamina will probably come into it. This is the ideal trip for us though."

A trip to Aintree could be on the cards for Pic D'Orhy depending on his performance this weekend and although the Johnny de la Hey-owned son of Turgeon holds an entry in the Ryanair at Cheltenham next month, connections believe a defence of his Melling Chase crown at Aintree in April could prove more profitable.

"He'll probably go to Aintree after this for the race he won last year," Nicholls said. "I wouldn't have thought we'd go for the Ryanair, we're quite keen to do what we did last year. Aintree suits him well, so I suspect that's what we'll do."

L'Homme Presse tops the market at 10/11 for the Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Ascot on Saturday, while Pic D'Orhy is a best-priced 15/8 with Paddy Power for the same event.