Araldur displays battling qualities to land spoils; YESTERDAY'S BIG-RACE ACTION Lee Mottershead at Sandown.IT SEEMED as though he was destined to play second fiddle second fiddle n. Informal 1. A secondary role. 2. One who plays a secondary role. second fiddle Noun Informal a person who has a secondary status Noun to the favourite from start to finish, but the wonderfully game Araldur was eventually rewarded for endless effort when finally overhauling Free World in the sort of stirring duel that Sandown serves up best. In doing so, he won for Alan King a race the trainer has long loved. Back in 1980, the sight of Easter Eel beating Clayside in a memorable running of the Henry VIII Novices' Chase left a lasting impression on the schoolboy King. Twenty-eight years later, it was King's ultra-tough Araldur who triumphed in an even more memorable edition. Araldur, beaten off a mark of 112 at Bangor in October before posting wins at Chepstow and Warwick, was the only horse able to keep tabs on Free World as the Paul Nicholls-trained favourite sped down Sandown's back straight. Yet despite being almost continuously flat out and outjumped at times, he never gave up and eventually clawed back two lengths after the final fence to secure a neck success. The prize he bagged is a recognised Arkle Trophy trial, but the four-year-old can be backed at 25-1 for the race with Coral. Based on what King had to say, even those odds are prohibitive. "He isn't a two-miler and the further he goes, the better he will be," said King. "I certainly can't see him being an Arkle horse - on good ground in March, they would run him off his feet. I've no idea where he'll run next, but I'll probably step him up to two and a half miles." King's rider, Robert Thornton For the politician, see . For the physicist, see . Robert "Choc" Thornton (born July 14, 1978 [1]) is an English National Hunt jockey currently employed as stable jockey to Alan King. , suggested that Araldur "could be awesome over further". For now, two miles looks to be Free World's trip, but Nicholls reported that Master Minded's stablemate Noun 1. stablemate - a horse stabled with another or one of several horses owned by the same person stable companion Equus caballus, horse - solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times "just isn't the finished article yet and didn't get home". Both Boylesports and Coral offer him at 20-1 for the Arkle. Result Betinternet.com Henry VIII Novices' Chase 1 Araldur 11-4 2 Free World 4-5f 3 Astarador 12-1 Owner David Sewell David Graham Sewell (b. 20 October, 1977 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand cricketer. He played one Test match for New Zealand in 1997. He is a current member of the Otago team and he has played for North Otago in the Hawke Cup. Trainer Alan King Jockey Robert Thornton Groom Robert Mesiros Breeder Baudouin De La Motte La Motte is the name of several places: France La Motte, Lamotte, La Mothe or Lamothe is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:
Distances nk, dist CAPTION(S): Robert Thornton with Henry VIII hero Araldur EDWARD WHITAKER |
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