A disappointing run in the Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March has done little to dissuade Brighton handler Gary Moore from tipping his horse Editeur Du Gite for glory.
“The nine-year-old was well backed to run nicely at the Prestbury Parkextravaganza by most UK’s top gambling sites – particularly as he had gotten the better of market principles Edwardstone and Energumene in the Clarence House Chase in January.”
And yet, in a bizarre twist of fate, it was a horse with similar Brighton connections who would prevail. Energumene is owned by Tony Bloom, who also boasts a majority shareholding in Brighton & Hove Albion, and it was the Willie Mullins-trained horse who triumphed in the Champion Chase with Editeur Du Gite back in fourth place.
With the National Hunt campaign slowly coming to an end as the seasons change, there are fewer opportunities to enjoy a runout in high-class competition. That’s why many expected Moore to enter Editeur Du Gite at the Aintree Festival this month, where the 7/1 favourite Corach Rambler heads the Grand National betting tips in the headline race of the meeting ahead of defending champion Noble Yeats and Cheltenham winner Delta Work.
AN ABSOLUTE BELTER! 🤩
Editeur Du Gite battles all the way to take the Albert Bartlett Clarence House Chase 🥇#ITVRacing | @CheltenhamRaces | @niall_houli pic.twitter.com/kpS63hZ9PO
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) January 28, 2023
Instead, Moore is eyeing Sandown’s Celebration Chase as a possible return date for his star, whose victories in the Clarence House and Desert Orchid Chase this term have marked a remarkable improvement in fortunes.
Editeur Du Gite won the Red Rum Handicap Chase on the Grand National course in 2021, but he was pulled up at the same venue in the Melling Chase a year later. That has seemingly helped to make Moore’s mind up.
Having won right-handed at Kempton, similar conditions at Sandown are likely to suit as is the expected firmer ground. If he can claim victory in the two-mile chase, the name of Moore’s name would be etched alongside a classy list of former Celebration Chase winners that includes Tingle Creek victor Greaneteen, Arkle winner Altior and two-time Champion Chase ruler Sprinter Sacre.If nothing else, we might learn more about the quality of company that Editeur Du Gite can keep…
Reaching the Zenith
Having initially started out as a trainer after taking over his father Charlie’s Ingleside yard, Moore has since relocated to the Cisswood Racing facility in Lower Beeding.
He trains a small but perfectly formed jumps team there alongside his Flat fancies, with Aintree on the agenda for a couple of his horses even if Editeur Du Gite doesn’t make the trip north.
Bo Zenith is expected to get a crack at a Grade 1 race in the Jewson Anniversary Juvenile Hurdle, and he’s already been backed at 7/2 for that four-year-old’s race behind Zenta (2/1). The sprinter has won two of his three outings on English soil, with a three-length triumph in the Victor Ludorum Juvenile Hurdle in February the pick of the bunch.
🏆 TAHMURAS 🏆
Wins the Tolworth Gr.1 @Sandownpark for @PFNicholls & @ndfehily
Sold #CheltenhamMay sale by @DonnchadhDoyle @MonbegStables for £68,000
👏Congratulations to all
— Tattersalls Cheltenham (@tattscheltenham) January 7, 2023
Authorised Speed, who disappointed when favourite in the Tolworth Hurdle in January, bounced back to winning ways at Sandown in March and is another who could form part of Moore’s Aintree squad.
One thing is for sure; the Brighton handler is in for a busy few weeks as the National Hunt season draws to a close.
