Detroit City - live Festival hopes (Getty Images).
DETROIT STAKES TRIUMPH CLAIM
By Carl Llewellyn
I was on board Ollie Magern in the Cotswold Chase at Wincanton and we had been very hopeful prior to the race as he had been in great form. He was disappointing and finished fourth but afterwards we found that there was a reason as he had broken a blood vessel. I have had no news from the stable but he will have had an easy time and been treated by the vets. He has got enough time to get back for the Cheltenham Gold Cup as the problem could clear up quite quickly if it has come from an infection which weakens the blood vessels and causes them to burst. They did go a really good gallop in the race and it was a good test but I don't think that it was a very strong Cheltenham trial with a couple of the main contenders disappointing. Detroit City won the four-year-old hurdle at Sandown on Saturday and really impressed me. It was a decent race and I thought that it rode like a very good Triumph Hurdle trial. Sandown is a fast track down the back straight but has a stiff uphill finish like Cheltenham so I think he will go to the Festival with a real live chance. He lengthened his stride and stretched away from the second last and will be a nice chaser in time. I thought Fire Dragon put up a good performance to win the Cleeve Hurdle after AP McCoy dictated matters from the front. Runner-up Mighty Man was squeezed for room and lost quite a few lengths on the home turn but then finished very well. He looked an unlucky loser and was probably the best horse on the day. He is a fine prospect for Cheltenham and I think he has a decent chance in the World Hurdle. There is nothing outstanding in the race among the leading contenders and he goes there as a young, improving type. I rode Redemption and he needs a race when they go pretty fast - this was quite steadily run. He likes to drop in at the back and then creep past rivals at the death but he had to go with them when they quickened up down the back straight. In the end he got tired and not quite lasted home but a race with a more even gallop from the start would suit him much better. He will be entered in the World Hurdle and also the Ryanair Chase at the Festival but there is also the Vodafone Cup at Newbury the week before which is a possibility. I don't think that the Agfa Hurdle was a great renewal and Royal Shakespeare was a fortunate winner after Fiepes Shuffle tipped up at the last. I could not really see anything from the race coming out and becoming a Champion Hurdle contender as the winner is just below that class. The Irish horses look too good and they would have to perform well below par for him to figure in the first four. As assistant trainer to Mark Pitman, I was very pleased with Dempsey's second in the Victor Chandler Chase. He had to give weight away and was just caught on the run-in but ran a really good race nonetheless. He has got to improve a little on the ratings to figure in the Champion Chase at the Festival but that event is perhaps a touch below par compared to recent renewals. Dempsey's jumping has become much more consistent this season - even at speed when he was quite keen over the Railway Fences. He now goes straight to Cheltenham as he goes well fresh. here are no suitable races really for him beforehand and it would perhaps be too much to ask to tackle another prep run.
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