Given the importance of the Champion Bumper as a breeding ground for future Grade 1 winning hurdlers/chasers and to celebrate Weatherbys’ longstanding association with the race we thought it would be the ideal time to bring back the Road To The Weatherbys Champion Bumper series - the first Listed bumper (in Britain) of the season having taken place at Cheltenham on Sunday.
Whilst last season’s winner has yet to reappear – with A Dream To Share having met with a setback which is due to keep him on the side-lines during the first half of the season – the race is working out well and Fiercely Proud – successful at Hereford on Tuesday – became the ninth individual hurdles winner to come out of the 2023 renewal.
Runner-up, Fact To File, has taken the Florida Pearl (winner of the Champion Bumper in 1997, which is when Weatherbys’ association with the race began) route and ran well on chase debut on Sunday, whilst 16th home Better Days Ahead was travelling strongly when falling at Down Royal recently. Captain Teague (3rd) won the Grade 2 Persian War Novices’ Hurdle on reappearance, whilst the Alan King-trained Favour And Fortune (14th) made it 2-2 over hurdles at Wetherby on Saturday and could now be aimed at the newly-named Formby Novices’ Hurdle (formerly the Tolworth) at Aintree on Boxing Day.
The 2022 renewal also produced a couple of weekend winners, with first and second home – Facile Vega and American Mike – both making successful starts to their respective chasing careers at Navan’s two-day fixture.
As for this season’s Champion Bumper, the early season standard probably belongs to Aurora Vega, a full-sister to the 2022 winner, who is unbeaten in three starts to date. A relatively comfortable winner of the Listed Mucklemeg Mares Flat Race at Gowran Park in late-September, she is enjoying a break at present and will likely be brought back for the Dublin Racing Festival. She represents Willie Mullins, who has, of course, won the Champion Bumper on no fewer than 12 occasions.
Another well-bred filly from the Mullins camp is Baby Kate, who won the Listed mares’ contest at Cheltenham on Saturday. A daughter of Augusta Kate (sent off favourite for the 2016 Champion Bumper, when finishing 7th behind Ballyandy), she is only small but handled the soft ground well and is another who is being aimed at the ‘DRF’. No doubt, Mullins will have a handful of potential contenders to unleash over the festive period and beyond.
The Gavin Cromwell-trained Only By Night also won in Listed company over the weekend, successful at Navan on Sunday, where she lowered the colours of the expensive purchase Qualimita. She has looked a different mare for meeting deep ground in Ireland, having finished third on good ground at Warwick in the spring, when trained by Jonjo O’Neill.
One who really impressed when successful in Ireland was the four-year-old Butcher Hollow, who scored by 4½ lengths at Galway in late-October. Having travelled well throughout, he kicked clear off the home bend and stayed-on nicely to record a comprehensive win. That form was advertised recently, when the fifth placed horse won a maiden hurdle at Wexford, and he had earlier showed his versatility (ground wise) when winning a Point-to-Point on a sounder surface. Thomas Cooper stated afterwards that he would be in no rush to run the son of Kingston Hill again, but he is very much one to note once he does step up in grade. Currently available at 33-1 for the Champion Bumper, his trainer won the race 20 years ago with the mare Total Enjoyment and at the time of writing, Butcher Hollow is the sole winner of the campaign for the Co Kerry handler.
Domestically, Celtic Dino made a winning debut at Ascot in early-November and I would expect that he might be considered for the Listed race at the same venue just before Christmas. A Doctor Dino half-brother to the smart Saint Segal, he was prominent throughout and quickened up well on soft ground, to score by 4¼ lengths. Again, it will be interesting to see how he fares once stepping up in class.
One who already has a Listed success to his name is the Ben Brookhouse-trained Brechin Castle, who won the aforementioned Cheltenham contest on Sunday. Having cost £165,000 on the back of an Irish Points success, he made a winning start under Rules at Sedgefield, where he scored with ease, under Alice Stevens. Jack Quinlan took over in the saddle at Cheltenham and he finished strongly to beat the next two in the market. That form has a relatively solid feel to it – certainly the strongest on offer this side of the Irish Sea at this early stage of the season – and it is worth noting that Ballyandy (the last British-trained winner of the Champion Bumper) won this Listed contest some eight years ago. He is reportedly a possible for the Ascot contest next month, whilst his rookie trainer is also considering sending him over to Ireland at some stage. It will be interesting to see if he sticks to that plan once the dust has settled on what was a really good performance, or whether he instead refocuses the attention towards Cheltenham in March. He is another who is currently priced at 33-1 for the Champion Bumper.
Fourth in the Listed race on Sunday was Rickety Bridge, who had earlier finished runner-up behind Wellington Arch, who looks a nice prospect for Jonjo O’Neill. Whilst he only won by a short-head at Worcester, the son of Blue Bresil was quite green (appeared to hang to his right) but travelled up well before finding plenty for pressure. It was a likeable debut success and given his inexperience, he can be expected to improve a fair bit for it. He holds an entry at Ascot on Saturday – in a race which the stable won with Soaring Glory in 2019 – and that should tell us a good deal more about this full-brother to Dan Skelton’s Pembroke.
Finally, Captain Bellamy won what appeared to be a competitive Chepstow bumper in late-October, making virtually all under Harry Cobden. Wound-up from half-way up the home straight, the powerful-looking four-year-old drew clear, despite veering to his left, in the closing stages, to record a 4-length success. Captain Teague finished third for the same connections in this year’s Champion Bumper and again, the Listed race at Ascot was mentioned as a possible target by champion trainer, in his post-race interview. That contest – staged on Friday 22nd December – could be very informative and Nicholls won it Henri The Second in 2022, having saddled Knappers Hill and Stage Star to fight out the finish in 2021.
As with previous years, I will post regular updates at significant junctures during the season and there are sure to be plenty of potential contenders to appear ahead of the next update.