Paul Nicholls trained Captain Teague could head straight to The Cheltenham Festival after Challow Hurdle win at Newbury Racecourse
Paul Nicholls suggested Captain Teague could head straight to The Cheltenham Festival after the six-year-old landed him a fourth successive Challow Hurdle title at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday.
Captain Teague, who won on his hurdling debut at Chepstow in October but had to settle for second at Cheltenham the following month, set off as the 2/1 favourite and required almost no encouragement from jockey Harry Cobden until the closing stages as he finished a length-and-a-half clear of Neil King’s Lookaway to secure the £85,000 prize.
The Nicky Henderson-trained Willmount had been well-fancied but never really looked in the contest and was pulled up by James Bowen three from home as he suffered a first career defeat.
Nicholls, who has won the two-and-a-half mile Grade 1 contest for four years in a row following victories from the esteemed trio Bravemansgame, Stage Star and Hermes Allen, was delighted with Captain Teague’s performance and has backed him to follow in the footsteps of his high-quality forebears.
And the Ditcheat-based handler has hinted that the Doyen gelding’s next appearance will be at The Cheltenham Festival in March, with his odds for the two-and-a-half mile Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle slashed from 33s to 16/1, while a step up in trip could still be on the cards this season, with Captain Teague as short as 10/1 for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
“He travelled well and jumped brilliantly,” Nicholls, who has won the race six times since first triumphing with the legendary Denman, told The Racing Post.
“I said to Harry if he was idling in front he should stride on and put the race to bed.
“He said he wished he’d hung on a little longer because the horse doesn’t do anything in front, but he’s learning all the time.
“He’s a lovely horse and I’m thrilled – and he’ll keep improving.
“The best you’ll see of him is when he goes chasing next season and he’ll get three miles one day – he’s a proper horse.
“I think soft ground is very important and if it was good-ish ground at Cheltenham you wouldn’t be afraid of going three miles in the Albert Bartlett and if it was testing ground, two-and-a-half miles [the Ballymore] is ideal.”