Chianti Classico © Photo Healy Racing
Kim Bailey believes now is the time for Chianti Classico to dip his toe into Grade One waters in the Huyton Asphalt Franny Blennerhassett Memorial Mildmay Novices’ Chase.
Always highly regarded by Bailey, the seven-year-old really came of age at Cheltenham last month, winning the ultra-competitive Ultima by four and a half lengths.
That was his third win of the season, with his only reverse coming when second to Flegmatik at Kempton.
With the handicapper putting him up 11lb, the Andoversford handler saw little point in running in a handicap with top weight and instead he takes on fellow Festival winner Inothewayyurthinkin.
“It was a really good performance at Cheltenham and the handicapper was obviously very impressed as well as he put him up 11lb,” said Bailey.
“We’re lucky that we know he’ll go the very soft ground as it was heavy going at Cheltenham.
“He’s definitely worth a crack at a Grade One now, the only alternative was to run in a handicap this week, but that 11lb rise meant he would have had top weight and if he’d done that and run well or even won, you’d have just been thinking why you weren’t in the Grade One.
“He’s been to Aintree before, we ran him in the bumper at this meeting a couple of years ago so he’s got that experience.”
Inothewayurthinkin and Iroko are both owned by JP McManus but have taken very different routes.
Gavin Cromwell’s Inothewayurthinkin arrives of the back of a very easy win off top weight in the Kim Muir and certainly looks worth stepping back up in grade having run well behind Arkle winner Gaelic Warrior at Limerick in December.
“Inothewayurthinkin came out of Cheltenham very well and did it very nicely on the day. Gavin is very happy with him, we’ll know more about where we stand after the race on Friday but he’s in good form,” said McManus’ racing manager Frank Berry.
Iroko, who won the Martin Pipe over hurdles at Cheltenham last March, made a very impressive chasing debut at Warwick in November.
He picked up an injury there and was initially ruled out for the rest of the season but arrived back at the yard of joint-trainers Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero quicker than expected and finished a respectable fifth to Grey Dawning in the Turners.
“Iroko’s preparation for Cheltenham was a bit quick after the hold-up. He ran quite well there and the boys are hoping he’s come forward from that run and we’re hoping for a nice run,” said Berry.
Nigel Twiston-Davies fields Broadway Boy, who was denied a run at Cheltenham due to a minor setback. He wears cheekpieces for the first time.
The Lucinda Russell-trained Giovinco, an excellent third to Fact To File in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, and Henry de Bromhead’s Heart Wood, impressive when landing a competitive handicap at the Dublin Racing Festival, add further intrigue.
“He was very good in the Leopardstown Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival. He’s very lightly raced and I think that he’s progressive,” Heart Wood’s rider Rachael Blackmore told Betfair.
“He’s obviously taking a big step up here, from a handicap chase into a Grade One, but we’re really happy with him at home. I hope that he can stay the trip, and I’m hoping that he can take the step up in class.”
