Sir Gino’s scintillating debut puts chaser bang on track for Cheltenham festival
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What looked likely to be a duel in the fog turned into more of a rout in the gloom at Kempton on Friday, as Nicky Henderson’s Sir Gino made one of the more memorable debuts over fences in recent years, and established a strong claim to be the best two-mile novice chaser in Britain or Ireland.
![[Val Dancer races through the gloom to win the Welsh Grand National at a foggy Chepstow.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4e123afbbc89cd9ad8085ff90cdee842226a14ea/550_360_3135_1882/master/3135.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Ballyburn, a Grade One winner over hurdles at Cheltenham in March, simply could not live with the speed and accuracy of Sir Gino’s jumping in the Wayward Lad Novice Chase, a race that has been won by an extensive list of future two-mile champions from the Henderson yard over the years. Remittance Man, Sprinter Sacre, Altior and Shishkin are all on the roll of honour, and Sir Gino, who is now odds-on with most bookmakers for the Arkle Trophy at next year’s festival, could yet prove to be as good as any of his illustrious predecessors.
Ballyburn led in the early part of the race but by the time that Sir Gino jumped to the front at the seventh, he was not only clearly relishing his first race over fences but also going much better than his market rival. He went clear on the bit from two out and cantered across the line nearly eight lengths in front.
“He was a bit sketchy over the first, but by the time we turned down the side towards the open ditch, it all clicked,” Nico de Boinville, the winner’s jockey, said. “He’s so quick back on the ground after taking off that he’s just taking lengths in the air. We knew he had the engine, it was just a case of whether he could put it all together.
