The Paul Nicholls-trained Saphir Du Rheu has had a stop-start career over fences but ran a cracker to finish fifth in the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival last Friday and now heads for the Randox Health Grand National at Aintree next month.
An impressive winner of the 2015 Grade One Betfred Mildmay Novices’ Chase over three miles at Aintree, the imposing grey gelding could only manage a sixth-placed finish behind Cue Card in the Grade One Betfred Bowl Chase at last year’s meeting but now heads for the extended four and a quarter-mile event after an excellent run behind Sizing John in racing’s Blue Riband event.
Dicheat handler Nicholls suggested the eight-year-old son of Al Namix had benefitted from an easy victory at odds of 1/7 at Kelso in February which had restored the horse’s confidence.
A general 22/1 shot for the Grade Three event, the French-bred gelding has been given a mark of 156 for the contest and Nicholls is hopeful of a bold run from the horse.
Britain’s champion Jumps trainer said:
He’s always been capable of being a decent horse, but things fell a little bit apart with his jumping. Funnily enough, when he fell in the Hennessy it might have woke his ideas up because he’s jumped well since that day, his concentration has improved and I think there’s more to come from him.
At Cheltenham he showed us he was coming back and that confidence booster at Kelso made a difference to him, that was good. The other day was a very good run and now he’s going to Aintree with a chance. Sometimes we put a bit of spruce over our schooling fences – it’s a funny thing because we made National fences at home for Double Thriller and when he got there he spooked at the first and landed upside down.
Then again Neptune Collonges (who won the National) never saw one at home. With these good horses you’ve got to evaluate each one and have a look.
