Dynamic duo to strike again

14 April 2012

The old firm are back at Newbury tomorrow. And Martin Pipe and AP McCoy can click straight back into gear with Tamarinbleu in the totesport Trophy.

One way or another, the duo who shredded the jumping record books before their split last year have been in the wars recently.

McCoy has missed out in a long line of big races as his new boss Jonjo O'Neill has fought illness in his yard, while Pipe has faces an important date with the Jockey Club next week over the running of one of his horses at Exeter last October.

But all the negatives will be put aside for the four frenetic minutes it takes to run Britain's richest handicap hurdle. And in Tamarinbleu, the dynamic duo have an improving horse with a Champion Hurdle entry who lines up on top of his game after a highly impressive success at Sandown last month.

Pipe supplied six of the 23 runners that day, but a quiet word when McCoy popped in to visit left no room for doubt as to which one he should ride.

Not for the first time, the wily Pipe was bang on. In a big field, Tamarinbleu travelled with eye-catching fluency before storming to the front two out. The winning distance was the only matter to be resolved thereafter, and the unexposed five-year-old forged clear to beat last week's Agfa Hurdle winner Self Defense by four lengths with some very good yardsticks well strung out behind.

Naturally, with £125,000 on offer the list of dangers is a long one.

The Irish raider Essex is plainly thriving, though 4-1 looks short enough given that he has taken a massive hike in the weights for his Pierse Hurdle success at Leopardstown.

Improving novice Roman Ark is a stone well in on official figures if the handicapper has got his sums right and will relish any further rain, while Power Elite looked very good on occasions last season and has the brilliant Paul Carberry aboard.

Idole First and Howle Hill are two to keep an eye on for those who enjoy trading at long odds on the exchanges, but Tamarinbleu and the brooding McCoy can come out on top.

A triumphant flourish of his whip passing the post at Sandown told you all you needed to know about how the champ felt to be back on a big winner for Pipe. With any luck, he could be staging a repeat performance at about five past three.

Tomorrow is a huge day for the Pipe yard, as Well Chief and Celestial Gold also lay their Cheltenham credentials on the line in the Game Spirit Chase and the Aon Chase.

Both will start at skinny odds, consequently it's worth trying to assess how the market will swing.

Well Chief has only Azertyuiop to fear in the Game Spirit. In theory, he should shade it receiving 4lb and, with Paul Nicholls hinting that Azertyuiop will be short of peak fitness, he could go off very short.

But view it another way. Well Chief lines up just two weeks after a demanding race in the Victor Chandler at Cheltenham, whereas Azertyuiop will be fresh from a break since failing to stay three miles in Kicking King's King George.

It ought to be a thriller if both horses jump cleanly, but Azertyuiop remains a top notch two-miler and he looks the value bet back at his ideal distance.

Pipe and Nicholls supply the big two again when the last two Hennessy Gold Cup winners do battle in the Aon and, once again, comments from connections will help shape the market.

Nicholls has been reserved about Strong Flow, who has been held up by a cut since his reappearance, while Celestial Gold's owner David Johnson has gone on the front foot to say he "expects to win."

At their best, there isn't much between them. However, Celestial Gold looks the one to be on. His Hennessy win looks rock-solid form and the way Timmy Murphy rides him means there is almost certainly more in the locker.

Selections for tomorrow's top TV races at Newbury: 2.25, Celestial Gold; 3.00, Tamarinbleu; 3.35, Azertyuiop.

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