Ascot takes centre stage on the racing front on Saturday, as one of the finest dual-purpose tracks in the land lays on a seven-race card to savour.
The Betfair Exchange Handicap Hurdle looks as competitive as ever, whilst the Grade 2 Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase should provide a useful clue or two ahead of the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.
Intriguing as the aforementioned contests are, top billing in Berkshire belongs to the Grade 1 Ascot Chase. Since making its debut in 1995 as the Comet Chase, this 2m5f event has regularly attracted a field of the most talented chasers in the game.
The race made a flying start in terms of the quality of the winner, with inaugural champ Martha’s Son going on to claim the 1997 edition of the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Other luminaries who have lit up the Ascot turf on route to victory include One Man, Monet’s Garden, Kauto Star, Cue Card, and Shiskin.
Six runners set out to add their names to that roll of honour in 2025, including one horse who has already etched his name on the trophy.
Reigning Champ Heads the Betting
Ahead of the 2024 edition of the Ascot Chase, Paul Nicholls sat in a three-way tie with Martin Pipe and Nicky Henderson as the most successful trainer in the history of this event. Following an all-the-way success by Pic D’orhy, the Ditcheat maestro is now all alone atop the trainer’s table.
| Trainer | Ascot Chase Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Nicholls | 5 | 2000, 2008, 2016, 2019, 2024 |
| Nicky Henderson | 4 | 2001, 2011, 2012, 2023 |
| Martin Pipe | 4 | 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 |
| Nicky Richards | 2 | 2007, 2010 |
| Alan King | 2 | 2009, 2015 |
| Colin Tizzard | 2 | 2013, 2017 |
If we are to believe the betting market, Nicholls has every chance of a sixth success as he sends the defending champ Pic d’Orhy into battle once more. In slamming L’Homme Presse by more than five lengths in 2024, this son of Turgeon took his Ascot-winning tally to three. That total now sits at four following the ten-year-old’s comfortable success in the 1965 Chase over this track and trip on his seasonal return.
Lacking an entry for any event at the Cheltenham Festival, the suspicion is that this is Pic D’orhy’s number one target for the 2024/25 campaign. If he successfully hangs onto his title, he will become the fifth dual Ascot Chase winner, following in the hoofprints of Tiutchev (2001, 2003), Monet’s Garden (2007, 2010), Riverside Theatre (2011, 2012), and Cue Card (2013, 2017).
Presse to Push Favourite All the Way
The horse who chased Pic D’orhy home in 2024 heads the opposition. Hailing from the yard of Venetia Williams, L’Homme Presse has ridden his brilliant jumping and pace-pushing style to success on the biggest stage and heads to Ascot in search of a third top-tier triumph.
First announcing himself on the Grade 1 stage with a 21-length romp in the 2022 Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase, his crowning glory came when grabbing gold in the Brown Advisory Novices’ at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.
Injury has since interrupted his progress, but he showed the fire still burns when conquering Stage Star in a ding-dong battle for the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham last time out. Holding entries for the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Aintree Grand National, the mount of Charlie Deutsch is unlikely to allow Pic D’orhy such an easy lead as in 2024 and may at least get a little closer to the market leader.
Emerging Star and Fading Force Best of the Rest
Of the others, Flegmatik faces an impossible task on ratings, whilst Le Patron has youth on his side but has been more miss than hit of late. However, Corbetts Cross and Blue Lord will have high hopes of being involved in the finish.
Having turned the 2024 National Hunt Chase into a procession, the Gavin Cromwell-trained Corbetts Cross was touted as a potential challenger for the 2025 Gold Cup. He has looked some way short of that standard in two outings this season but still holds an entry for the Cheltenham Festival’s signature event. With one of the shrewdest operators in the sport plotting his course throughout the season, it would be unwise to underestimate this JP McManus-owned runner.
Whilst Corbetts Cross may still have his best days ahead of him, the career highlights of Blue Lord are beginning to disappear in the rearview mirror. However, the son of Blue Bresil hit a rating of 167 in his pomp – a mark which would put him four pounds clear of these rivals – and scored three times in Grade 1 company.
Having missed almost all of the 2023/24 campaign, Blue Lord displayed only a modicum of promise on his return at the end of 2024. Whilst hard to fancy on recent events, that proven class and the fact that he hails from the yard of a certain Willie Mullins make him an intriguing addition to this small but select field.
