Super Saturday for Venetia Williams-trained Funambule Sivola, defends Game Spirit Chase crown
It was a Super Saturday indeed for Funambule Sivola as he won the feature Grade Two Betfair Exchange Game Spirit Chase for the second year in a row at Newbury Racecourse.
The Venetia Williams-trained eight-year-old was second at last year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham, a month after his first Newbury triumph, but has since endured a torrid time, disappointing at Sandown and Kempton before finishing fifth from six in the Albert Bartlett Clarence House Chase back at Cheltenham last month.
Returning to a track he appears to favour, the son of Noroit made all the running under Charlie Deutsch, winning virtually unchallenged and finishing three-and-a-half lengths clear of Elixir De Nutz and a further three-quarters-of-a-length ahead of the odds-on pre-race favourite, multiple Grade One winner Greaneteen.
“He seems to love it here, it’s not often you can win a race like this twice in a row,” Williams told Racing TV afterwards.
“I was terrified about the ground, he had a tendon injury before we bought him, but he loves it.
“It’s been a struggle because we’ve not been able to run him in the handicaps like we did last year, we’ve had to run in the Graded races, but he’s shown what he can do.”
Funambule Sivola, who Deutsch described as a “pocket rocket” and “one of the quickest horses I’ve ridden”, is now set to see if he can go one better than last time in next month’s Champion Chase, where he’ll take on the Clarence House Chase winner, Editeur Du Gite.
It was a day for returning winners as Zanza triumphed in the Grade Two Betfair Denman Stakes, winning at the Berkshire track for the fifth time in his career.
The Philip Hobbs-trained nine-year-old came from the back of the pack under Tom O’Brien to finish a convincing seven lengths clear of the pre-race favourite, Paul Nicholls’ Hitman.
Twyford’s Craig and Jenny Gordon celebrated a double, winning the Betfair Multiple Offers Every Saturday Handicap Hurdle thanks to Annual Invictus under their son Freddie Gordon, who saw off Nicholls’ Barbados Bucks in second, and the Betfair Hurdle courtesy of Aucunrisque, who beat the Emmet Mullins-trained Filey Bay.
