L’Homme Presse tops Ascot Chase quartet

Venetia Williams ace set for Gold Cup warm-up.

L’Homme Presse will face three rivals as he tests his Cheltenham Gold Cup claims in Saturday’s Betfair Ascot Chase.

The nine-year-old made a perfect return from a year on the sidelines when winning the Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield last month and he now shoots for Grade One gold over two miles and five furlongs in Berkshire.

Venetia Williams’ charge faces an intriguing rematch with Ahoy Senor in the race, with the pair having filled the first two places in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Festival in 2022.

The Lucinda Russell-trained Ahoy Senor has lost his way a little this term, pulling up on his first two starts before posting an improved fourth in the Cotswold Chase, when his rider’s stirrup iron snapped before the race really began in earnest.

Paul Nicholls runs Pic D’Orhy, runner up to Shishkin in last year’s renewal, while outsider Sail Away completes the line up, with Fakir d’Oudairies not declared by Joseph O’Brien.

Nicholls is represented by Brave Kingdom in the Sodexho Live! Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase, with the Grade Two drawing a five-strong line up.

The Anthony Honeyball-trained Kilbeg King and Russell’s Apple Away are two key players, as Henry’s Friend and The King Of Ryhope round out the contenders.

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