Connections of Delta Work believe the dual Festival hero has plenty on his plate as he goes in search of a third win around Cheltenham’s cross-country course in Friday’s Glenfarclas Handicap Chase.
The five-time Grade One winner was something of a pantomime villain when denying his stablemate Tiger Roll a fairytale farewell at Prestbury Park in 2022, but punters roared him home when he successfully defended his crown in March at the chief expense of another Elliott-trained runner in Galvin.
The Cullentra pair lock horns again in the Cotswolds on day one of the November meeting – but while their class came to the fore in a conditions race at the Festival, this contest is a handicap, meaning they will have to concede weight to the rest of the field.
With 7lb-claiming amateur Rob James offsetting some of Galvin’s 12st burden, Delta Work will carry top-weight of 11st 13lb under Keith Donoghue – and that hefty load, combined with the rain-softened ground, means Gigginstown House Stud’s Eddie O’Leary is not overly optimistic.
He said: “As expected he’s carrying an awful lot of weight and it’s very hard to fancy him in that ground off that weight.
“We’d be hopeful more than confident, I’d say. There’s a big difference (with the weights) in March on March ground.”
Elliott’s duo are joined on the trip from Ireland by the Mouse Morris-trained Foxy Jacks and Gearoid O’Loughlin’s Whatsyourstatus, while the home team is headed by Martin Keighley’s Back On The Lash, who bids to win the race for a third time.
The nine-year-old struck gold in 2021 and in last season’s renewal when it was run in January. He was subsequently pulled up behind Delta Work at the Festival and again failed to complete in the Grand National or on his recent reappearance at Exeter, but Keighley is hopeful of an improved performance.
“He schooled around there last week and he was really good,” he said.
“Obviously the two Gordon Elliott horses are going to be really hard to beat, but he loves it round there and it’d be great to see him bounce back to form. We could just do with not too much more rain.
“He needed that run (at Exeter), he seems in top form again now. He just comes alive around the cross-country jumps, he loves it round there as long as the ground is not too soft.
“He’s actually 2lb lower than when he last won it. He’s won this race the last two years, so hopefully he can make it a third.”
Diesel D’Allier finished third to Back On The Lash in 2021 before winning at the track the following month and finishing fourth to Delta Work in March.
His last two runs over the fences have not been so positive, but trainer Richard Bandey was encouraged by a comeback run over hurdles at Worcester last month.
He said: “He had a nice run over hurdles the other week, just as a prep run which he hasn’t had before, so it was good to get that into him.
“He’s in much better form than he was last year – we were always up against it last season with a few little issues, but we’ve had a much clearer run this year so hopefully he’ll give a good account of himself on Friday.
“It’s always going to be hard work with Delta Work and Galvin in there, but we’ll give it a go.”
Darrell Clarke urges Cheltenham fans to get behind team in bid to stay up
Darrell Clarke has called for Cheltenham’s fans to travel in numbers as they bid to escape the drop in League One with a final-day win at Stevenage.
Tuesday’s 2-0 home victory over Peterborough kept their hopes alive, sealed by first-half goals from Joe Nuttall and Matty Taylor, leaving them two points behind Burton.
They must win at Stevenage and hope Burton fail to beat Fleetwood and or Cambridge lose to Port Vale.
“I thought the boys were magnificent tonight and we needed to be,” Clarke said.
“Now, we take it to the last game of the season. It was a really good atmosphere tonight and the fans were great so hopefully we can get as many of them as possible down to Stevenage and fill the away end because we need everybody there trying to cheer us on for a win.
“When I came in we had one point and no goals, so of course I would have snapped your hand off for this position with one game left, with 44 points.
“The lads have been magnificent over a period of time and there is a real togetherness in the group, even when we took a lot of knocks recently.
“We have bounced back and found that really good performance. We need to find that last really good performance in the last game of the season.”
With their play-off spot already secured, Posh boss Darren Ferguson rested a host of regulars, making seven changes.
And his youthful side were blown away in the first half by the Robins, who knew anything other than a win meant relegation with one game to play.
Nuttall reacted quickest to bundle the ball over the line from close range after goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic could only parry Liam Sercombe’s shot in the 11th minute.
The lead was doubled 10 minutes later when Taylor brought down a ball forward from Lewis Freestone and applied an expert finish.
Taylor crashed a shot against the post in the 32nd minute after Liam Kinsella’s pass and Elliott Bonds forced Bilokapic into a smart save two minutes later.
Posh threatened through Ricky-Jade Jones before half-time, but they were second best and Taylor and Bonds both forced Bilokapic into evasive action in the second half.
At the other end, Luke Southwood parried Jonson Clarke-Harris’ shot in the 58th minute and kept out a late header from the centre forward.
Ferguson admitted his team struggled from the first whistle.
“They got on top of us and we couldn’t sustain any sort of control,” he said.
“The goals were terrible goals to give away, you can’t give goals away like that.
“We spoke about the first 20 minutes before we left the hotel – we had to see that through and try and make sure we dealt with them because we knew they’d be straight down our throats and they were and we conceded two soft goals.
“There were certain things we worked on that we didn’t do well enough, but the goals were poor and you can’t give goals away like that, especially tonight because they got so much energy from it.
“The longer the game went on and they hadn’t scored, the more chances we were going to get. We knew we had pace in behind and I have to say we had five or six very good opportunities as well.
“Congratulations to Cheltenham, they go into Saturday still with a chance of staying up.”
Cheltenham take survival fight to final day after beating Peterborough
Cheltenham kept their survival hopes alive going into the final day of the League One season after a 2-0 home win over promotion-chasing Peterborough.
First-half goals from Joe Nuttall and Matty Taylor took Town, in the final relegation place, two points behind Burton.
With their play-off spot already secured, Posh boss Darren Ferguson rested a host of regulars, making seven changes.
And his youthful side were blown away in the first half by the Robins, who knew anything other than a win meant relegation with one game to play.
Nuttall reacted quickest to bundle the ball over the line from close range after goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic could only parry Liam Sercombe’s shot in the 11th minute.
The lead was doubled 10 minutes later when Taylor brought down a ball forward from Lewis Freestone and applied an expert finish.
Taylor crashed a shot against the post in the 32nd minute after Liam Kinsella’s pass and Elliott Bonds forced Bilokapic into a smart save two minutes later.
Posh threatened through Ricky-Jade Jones before half-time, but they were second best and Taylor and Bonds both forced Bilokapic into evasive action in the second half.
At the other end, Luke Southwood parried Jonson Clarke-Harris’ shot in the 58th minute and kept out a late header from the centre forward.
Cheltenham must beat Stevenage on Saturday and hope that Burton fail to win at Fleetwood and or Cambridge lose to Port Vale, if they are to escape the drop.
Light seeking to shine again at Sandown
Kitty’s Light is taking aim at his usual season finisher in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown.
The gelding has been a star for trainer Christian Williams, winning big handicap events like the Eider Chase and the Scottish Grand National and going close in the Charlie Hall and the Coral Trophy.
He has particularly good record in the bet365 Gold Cup on the final day of the season, missing out only due to interference when second in 2021 and coming home third in 2022.
Last year he was completed the set of podium finishes when winning by two and a half lengths under usual jockey Jack Tudor.
The two are well acquainted and teamed up for Kitty’s Light’s Grand National bid at Aintree earlier in the month, where he ran a valiant race to finish fifth behind four Grade-One winning Irish chasers.
Williams was incredibly proud of his stable star and is now hoping the gelding can shine again in the Sandown contest he has found to be lucrative in the past.
“It was wonderful, we trained him to win the race and we thought he could, but you couldn’t be disappointed with what he did,” Williams said of the National performance.
“We were thrilled, the horse tried his best and we were very, very proud of horse and jockey.
“He’s come out of it very well, if the race was run today even then he’d be running, he’s in good form.
“He loves it at Sandown with the big fences, his jumping has come on now but even as a five-year-old he nearly won the race.
“He was third the year after that, it really seems to suit him.
“I think he likes going right-handed, he hangs a little bit right at home and he seems to really enjoy it there.
“We’re taking our chance anyway, he seems well and we’ll hope for the best.”
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