Betfair Media Release
for immediate release, Monday, February 15, 2021
Cobden eyes Betfair Ascot Chase repeat on Cyrname
Harry Cobden is hoping Cyrname can bounce back to his brilliant best in the feature G1 Betfair Ascot Chase (3.35pm, 2m 5f) on Saturday, February 20.
Cobden guided Cyrname to a stunning 17-length success in the 2019 edition of Ascot’s most valuable chase, a performance that resulted in Cyrname ending that season as Britain’s top-rated chaser.
Trained by Betfair ambassador Paul Nicholls, Cyrname fell when going for back-to-back wins last year and has a point to prove after being pulled up in the G1 King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
A total of 10 horses remain in the Betfair Ascot Chase following today’s confirmation stage, with Cyrname heading Betfair’s market at 6/4.
Speaking today on a conference call hosted by Great British Racing, Cobden said: “Cyrname is in good form at home. He has just tipped away from the King George. I schooled him this morning and he was in great form. He jumped great and I think going into this race, we might adopt slightly different tactics. We will ride him slightly more aggressively. We don’t necessarily have to make the running, but I don’t want an episode of Kempton in the King George last time.
“I wasn’t very happy with my position in the King George throughout the race. He was too far back and then I had to go wide throughout. He missed the fence down the back and that was the race over. I didn’t want to carry on for the sake of carrying on, so I pulled him up and saved him for another day.
“I had the perfect position down at the start, but Cyrname wasn’t keen to jump off for some reason. He was slowly away, jumped the first slowly and then I was sixth or seventh by the second fence. He just didn’t feel to me like he wanted to go. He went into the race bouncing and came out of it bouncing. We couldn’t find anything wrong with him before or after. He has probably got to the stage where he is more relaxed and doesn’t tear off like he used to do, so I think from a jockeys’ point of view, that changes the way I ride him.
“Going into this weekend’s race, Cyrname looks the one to beat on paper. Paul also runs Master Tommytucker and there are some other talented runners in the field, but he does look the one to beat. It is certainly no easy task, but he is a worthy favourite.
“Cyrname has won on testing ground at Ascot before, so fingers crossed it shouldn’t be an issue. When he won the Betfair Ascot Chase two years ago, that was the best performance I have ever ridden on a horse on a racecourse. The way he jumped and travelled in that race. He beat the likes of Waiting Patiently and it was a phenomenal performance. I guess that is where he got his rating of 176.
“Cyrname has been the horse of a lifetime for me. I was lucky enough that he came along very early in my career. He has been brilliant right the way through. He has won a number of races during his career and hopefully he hasn’t won his last one yet. I am sure he has plenty more in the tank and I think, if everything goes right on Saturday and if our plan goes right, I’m sure he will go very close.
“I suppose it would be no bad thing if there were more runners in the race to give him some cover. He seems in tremendous form at the moment and that is why I’m riding him. Hopefully, he can reproduce what he did two years ago.
“Cyrname used to be very difficult at home. When he first came over from France, he wouldn’t walk on the road and then on the gallop he would go from a walk to flat out in a matter of seconds. He was a bit unrideable, would wear a hood and you couldn’t send him out with other horses. He’s had plenty of work and Paul has managed to calm him down. He is a completely different horse now. You can ride him at the front of the string or the back of the string. I remember the first time I ever schooled him at our small school in Highbridge and it was like a wall of death going round there. You just didn’t know what was going to happen. Now he is brilliant, jumps well and drops his head lovely. He is a pleasure to be part of.”
Nicholls has another fascinating contender in Master Tommytucker, a lightly raced 10-year-old who outclassed the opposition in a G2 chase at Kempton Park on January 9.
Cobden added: “Master Tommytucker is a really good horse on his day. He has started to get his jumping together and is definitely going the right way. I was really impressed with him last time out at Kempton. Two miles and five furlongs will really suit. I’m sure he will go a good gallop out in front and if he gets into a good rhythm, he will be very hard to pass. He is not short of speed, his jumping is coming together and he is not one you would let get a five-length advantage at the start and let him get away. You would want to be right on his coat-tails the whole way as he certainly wouldn’t be stopping turning in for home.
“I know there are other horses in opposition apart from Master Tommytucker in there. But if Master Tommytucker turned up and absolutely blew them away, it wouldn’t surprise me because he has a serious engine in there. He has almost lost a bit of ground in his previous races just because you’re trying to get his jumping right, set him up and help him. If everything is going well and he gets himself into a good jumping rhythm, then he will be hard to pass. Paul has always said it and I’ve agreed with him that there is a massive race in him this season – whether it is on Saturday we’ll have to see. However, I do think he will turn up and win a Grade One shortly. I am not sure who rides him at the moment, but I’d say it will either be Sean Bowen, Harry Skelton or Sam Twiston-Davies.
“It was quite a tough decision between Cyrname and Master Tommytucker. But the thing is Cyrname has been to Ascot and done it. If he turns up with three-quarters of the ability he showed when winning at Ascot two years ago, then he is going to be hard to pass. I’m a believer and fairly confident that he is going to run his race.”
The remaining entries include 2020 Betfair Ascot Chase victor Riders Onthe Storm (Nigel Twiston-Davies). There have been four dual winners of the Betfair Ascot Chase, although Riverside Theatre is the only horse to do so in successive years.
Lostintranslation (Colin Tizzard), winner of the G1 Betfair Chase at Haydock Park in 2019, and G1 Ryanair Chase second Saint Calvados (Harry Whittington) are other big names still engaged.
Dashel Drasher (Jeremy Scott) and Bennys King (Dan Skelton) were first and second in a valuable handicap over the course and distance on January 23. Cyrname won the same race in 2019 prior to his Betfair Ascot Chase victory.
Fanion d’Estruval (Venetia Williams) was another contender in action at Ascot last month, finishing a staying-on fourth behind First Flow in the G1 Clarence House Chase.
G2 Peterborough Chase runner-up Kalashnikov (Amy Murphy) and Terrefort (Nicky Henderson) complete the 10 contenders.
Betfair Ascot Chase - Betfair odds:
6/4 Cyrname
7/2 Master Tommytucker
9/2 Saint Calvados
6/1 Kalashnikov, Lostintranslation
12/1 Dashel Drasher, Fanion d'Estruval
14/1 Benny King
25/1 Riders Onthe Storm
33/1 Terrefort
Betfair Spokesman Barry Orr commented: “This is the race that really announced Cyrname as an exceptional talent when he ran out a 17-length winner in 2019 and 6/4 looks a fair reflection of his chance following his disappointing run in the King George.
“At 12/1 we have already seen some support for Fanion d’Estruval and he could be an interesting runner.”
The going at Ascot is Soft, Heavy in places.
Clerk of the Course Chris Stickels said today: “We are still thawing. We were frozen solid yesterday lunchtime. This morning, we are 90 per cent thawed with just a little bit of frozen ground in front of the grandstand. We are a mixture of soft, heavy in places. The frost will have come out of the ground this afternoon, but it does leave it fairly wet at the moment.
“We had a bit of snow at the beginning of last week and there is rain forecast this week. The rain we have forecast, I wouldn’t imagine it will be a threat to the meeting, it will just leave the ground testing. We have about 20 millimetres in rain and showers coming between now and Friday. Saturday at this stage still looks dry, but that is still a while away yet and things can change. However, we are expecting around 20 millimetres and that will leave us with similar ground to now. In terms of whether the description is more soft or heavy, that will depend on the nature of the rainfall. Most of that rain is on Wednesday and Thursday.”
For further information, please contact:
Barry Orr, Head of Racing PR at Betfair
T +353 1 7790032
M +353 86 0246086
Twitter: @BetfairBarry
Ashley Morton-Hunte – Corporate & Racing Communications Manager, Ascot
Racecourse
