Sir Alex Ferguson has often appeared to lead a charmed life on the turf since his retirement from football management, and he enjoyed another memorable afternoon on Friday with an international double worth a total of around £500,000 in prize money in just 70 minutes. First, the novice hurdler Potters Charm carried the former Manchester United manager’s colours to a decisive victory in a Grade Two novice hurdle at Cheltenham’s prestigious November meeting. Meanwhile, Ferguson was in Bahrain to witness his seven-year-old gelding, Spirit Dancer, win the $1m Bahrain International Trophy for the second consecutive year, earning a first prize of £472,441.
Lead Artist, trained in Newmarket by John & Thady Gosden, surged into a clear lead with around two furlongs to run, but Oisin Orr and Spirit Dancer quickly took over and crossed the line first. Spirit Dancer, stabled with Richard Fahey in north Yorkshire, added a valuable race in Saudi Arabia to his record after last year’s Bahrain win, pushing his career total prize money past £2m. “It’s a fantastic achievement, what Richard and the team back home have done, credit to them for getting him back from injury,” said Ged Mason, Ferguson’s co-owner.
Potters Charm, Ferguson’s winner at Cheltenham, delivered the best performance by a novice hurdler in Britain this season, beating the odds-on favourite, Valgrand, by 11 lengths. “Today was a performance we have been expecting,” said Willy Twiston-Davies, assistant trainer to his father, Nigel. “He looks the best of the British novices at this point.”
Meanwhile, Jonbon, trained by Nicky Henderson, delivered a comfortable win in the Grade Two Schloer Chase, setting the stage for a crucial few weeks for his yard. Constitution Hill, the best hurdler of recent decades, is due to gallop at Newbury on Tuesday and then put his unbeaten record on the line in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on 30 November.
The Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday features a mix of proven performers and younger contenders with significant potential. Ginny’s Destiny, the likely favourite, arrives with a similar profile to last year’s winner, Stage Star, having established a fine Cheltenham record as a novice last season. Another contender, Imagine, a new recruit to Harry Derham’s stable, has not yet run over fences at Cheltenham.
Among the live candidates are course-specialists Fugitif, Il Ridoto, and Protektorat, but the pick could be Ga Law, the winner of this race two seasons ago. He looked as good as ever when running a close second at Chepstow last month and is fairly priced at around 6-1 to make it three-from-three.
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