Cheveley Park big guns being readied for festive action

Ashley Iveson
December 17, 2023 1:57 pm

A Plus Tard will bid to bounce back to form at Leopardstown.

Cheveley Park Stud director Richard Thompson is anticipating a busy Christmas for the team, with the majority of their formidable National squad set to be in action over the festive period.

Dual Ryanair and Punchestown Gold Cup hero Allaho will fly the Cheveley Park flag in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, while several horses look set to carry the famous red, white and blue colours across the four days of Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival.

A twin assault is being prepared for the Savills Chase on December 28, with stablemates A Plus Tard and Envoi Allen both confirmed as intended runners by trainer Henry de Bromhead earlier this week.

Thompson is particularly intrigued to see how A Plus Tard performs, with the nine-year-old having largely struggled since his sensational victory in the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Rachael Blackmore celebrates with Envoi Allen at Cheltenham (Tim Goode/PA)

“I think Henry feels it’s the right race for both horses,” he said.

“A Plus Tard has run twice in the Savills, winning in 2021 and finishing second the following year, and Envoi is going there in decent form after finishing second at Down Royal.

“It will be fascinating to see how A Plus Tard runs. He seems to be in great form at home, but as everyone knows he has had issues since he won the Gold Cup.

“He hasn’t run since April and we will know a lot after December 28 in terms of what have we got on our hands – have we got the old A Plus Tard back, or are we having to look again at his career going forward?”

Other upcoming entries for Cheveley Park include familiar names like Quilixios, Sir Gerhard, Grangeclare West and Classic Getaway.

The latter pair are poised to have their sights raised after impressing on their seasonal debuts.

Grangeclare West in winning action at Punchestown (Brian Lawless/PA)

Thompson added: “I think the two to look out for are Grangeclare West and Classic Getaway – they’re both very interesting horses based on their last performances and it will be fascinating to see where they run and how they run.

“Quilixios was disappointing last time out and is a little bit in and out, but he did win the time before over fences.

“We’ve only got 14 (National Hunt) horses in training and I think 12 of them are entered over Christmas. It’s an important time of year obviously and there’s a bit of prize-money to picked up to hopefully pay a few bills!”