Five challenge Champ in his Game Spirit return
Henderson runner makes seasonal bow at Newbury.
Cheltenham Gold Cup contender Champ is set to face five rivals in the Betfair Game Spirit Chase at Newbury on Sunday. Having been off the track since claiming a last-gasp victory in what is now the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at last season’s Cheltenham Festival, Nicky Henderson’s charge was originally due to make his long-awaited return in the three-mile Betfair Denman Chase. However, with Newbury’s Betfair Super Saturday card pushed back eight days after the original fixture was frozen off, Henderson has decided to instead run Champ over an extended two miles in the Game Spirit, due to the meeting’s proximity to the Festival.Champ = heart of a champion 😍
After jumping poorly he shows incredible speed and determination to fly home on the run and land the @rsagroup Novices’ Chase! 🚀#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/u36wrOHHx6 — CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 11, 2020
The likely favourite for the Grade Two contest is the Paul Nicholls-trained Greaneteen, who was last seen filling the runner-up spot behind stable companion Politologue in the Tingle Creek at Sandown in December. The Ditcheat handler also runs Dolos and Magic Saint, while Alan King is represented by the high-class Sceau Royal. Fanion d’Estruval, trained by Venetia Williams, completes the sextet. In Champ’s absence, Nicholls’ dual King George hero Clan Des Obeaux will be a warm order for the Denman Chase. The nine-year-old could finish only third when bidding for a hat-trick at Kempton on Boxing Day, but is odds-on to win this prize for the second time, having struck gold two years ago when the race was run at Ascot.
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