Races

PREVIEW | Sandown Finals Day: The bet365 Celebration Chase

Seven runners line up in the Grade 1 Celebration Chase at Sandown on Saturday

Published

2 weeks ago

April 22, 2021

Reece Charlton

The main stand at Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, Surrey, England

The final Grade 1 event of the season comes on the Jumps Finals Day card at Sandown, in the form of the bet365 Celebration Chase.

Racing gets underway at 1:55, with the Grade 1 contest starting at 3:05 and the feature race of the day, the bet365 Gold Cup, following after at 3:40.

Henry De Bromhead is hunting another top-grade success on British soil and holds the favourite in this contest, in the form of Champion Chase heroine Put The Kettle On (13/8).

Put The Kettle On ridden by Aidan Coleman on their way to winning the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase on day two of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Picture date: Wednesday March 17, 2021. — *Put The Kettle On is aiming for back-to-back Grade 1 successes on Saturday at Sandown for Henry De Bromhead*

The seven-year-old became the first mare to win the leading minimum-distance chase at the Cheltenham Festival, getting the better of the improving Nube Negra and superstar Chacun Pour Soi in the final stages.

This is arguably a less daunting task for the dual Festival winner, but she faces a new competitor in returning star Altior (3/1).

Nicky Henderson’s talented chaser has won the last three renewals of the Celebration Chase and if he can bounce back to his best, he will be a serious threat to the Irish mare.

2019 runner-up Sceau Royal (7/2) needs to find three and three-quarter lengths on Put The Kettle On after finishing fifth in the Champion Chase last month but Alan King’s versatile servant can build on his Game Spirit Chase victory here.

WATCH: SCEAU ROYAL WINS THE GAME SPRIT CHASE FOR ALAN KING AND BIDS FOR A SANDOWN SUCCESS THIS WEEKEND [CREDIT: RACING TV]

Greaneteen (11/2) ran a huge race at big odds in the two-mile Grade 1 contest at Cheltenham for Paul Nicholls, finishing half a length behind Chacun Pour Soi on the second day of the Festival.

The seven-year-old will want a quick pace here and he could well be in the mix if he can continue to show improvement at the top level. He is joined by stablemate Dolos (33/1) who is still hunting for a first Graded success.

Ann Hamilton’s Nuts Well (14/1) produced a bold bid on his Grade 1 debut earlier in the month when finishing second behind Fakir D’oudairies in the Melling Marsh Chase at Aintree, while Ornua (33/1) takes up the second-string role for Henry De Bromhead.

An interesting renewal of the Celebration Chase lies in wait for jumps fans at Sandown on Saturday.

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