English/Ire
Wendigo to lead Snowden’s Cheltenham squad
Jamie Snowden will head to the Cheltenham Festival next week with a handful of live contenders, headed by Wendigo in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase (Gr.1).
The seven-year-old son of Great Pretender has taken to fences well and after suffering defeat on his chasing bow at Worcester, he went on to claim the Grade 2 Coral John Francome Novices' Chase at Newbury before running on well to finish a creditable third in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, despite jumping markedly right-handed throughout.
He warmed up for his Cheltenham assignment with a twenty-two-length success in a novices' chase at Ayr in January and Snowden couldn't be happier with his charge following some smart pieces of work.
"Hopefully the next few days go well, and we have the team going there in good order," said Snowden on Sky Sports Racing.
"I'm very happy with, he came out of Ayr very well and we've freshened him up since then.
"He's done a couple of nice bits of quick work up the grass here in Lambourn and now we're just ticking away the days.
"He's a fabulous jumper of a fence but he has to go left-handed, we tried going right-handed at Kempton over Christmas in the Kauto Star when he finished third beaten a couple of lengths, but he just wasted so much ground going out to his left.
"All of the novice chases from then until the Festival were all right-handed. The only option we had was to go up to Ayr as all the graded novices' chases were all right-handed around Kempton, Ascot and other places.
"He stays very well and loves a bit of softer ground, so to do what he did around two and a half at Newbury was great, especially with it being our local track at the Henessy meeting.
"I just hope there's a little bit of rain between now and Cheltenham."
Snowden will also be represented by La Conquiere in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle, with the daughter of Le Havre currently two from three over hurdles having supplemented wins at Uttoxeter and Newbury with a second-place finish in Grade 2 company at Ascot.
"She's all about speed," said Snowden. "She was second in the Grade 2 Aintree bumper and is a very smart filly. She jumps really well and nice and quickly, she won her first two novice hurdles pretty easily, so we stepped her into open Grade 2 company at Ascot on her next start.
"She only got beaten half a length that day, but I think that will have done her the world of good, as she had to really battle there and the winner probably had the run of the race out in front.
"She'll certainly improve for that, she was taking on far more experienced rivals on just her third run over hurdles and giving the winner 2lb.
"I don't think she lost anything in defeat. She goes in there with a very similar rating as You Wear It Well who won it for us."
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