IT has been a Gem of a winter so far for Venetia Williams and Charlie Deutsch – and it keeps getting better.
Because gutsy Gemirande turned away the strong-travelling favourite Madara to win a thriller in the December Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
Victory in the £125,000 handicap arrives hot on the heels of Betfair Chase and Peterborough Chase glory for the top trainer and jockey combo.
No doubt they’ll be hoping this red-hot run of form carries over to Kempton on Boxing Day, when L’Homme Presse lines up in the King George.
That is for another day, for now they’ll both be basking in the glory of a career-best from Gemirande, who pinged his way around Cheltenham’s New Course like he was on springs.
He was sent forward by Deutsch after the first couple of fences and they never looked back – forging ahead to win by a length on the run-in with the chuffed jockey punching the air in delight.
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Deutsch said: “It’s always amazing when you win round here in these big races. I was having a great spin and I’ve grown to love this horse, he’s a real character.
“He’s quite ignorant in his way and you don’t want to take him on. The more you pull at him the faster he goes, and his jumping was electric.
“I’m really chuffed and Venetia’s a magician with what she does with her horses.
“He’s really game and even when you hit him, you almost don’t need to because he’d try anyway.”
Mind you, it looked a case of ‘how far’ for Dan Skelton’s Madara as the field levelled up for home at the bottom of the hill.
Harry Skelton, riding the crest of a wave at present, was sat motionless and taking dead-aim at Gemirande when his horse made an error and the two runners collided, knocking the 11-4 jolly back on his heels.
Madara drew back alongside his rival after the last, but Gemirande found an extra gear and was going away at the line.
Williams said: “He was incredibly tough today and he is a real improver this horse.
“The way he quickened from the last to the line at Ascot when he won last time, I hadn’t seen something like that for a long time. After that I knew we had to come to Cheltenham.
“Poor Charlie, I was wondering which part of his body he’d have to amputate to do the weight today! Thankfully he did and he gave him a lovely ride.
“You always look at the big races that are on offer and see if you have anything for them. It’s been amazing so far this season.”
Earlier in the day, French raider Jet Blue bagged the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle.
He cruised into contention under James Reveley and he sprinted clear up the hill to beat Western Knight by six and a half lengths.
It was a bridge too far for the thoroughly likeable Skyjack Hijack, who finished a tired fifth when bidding to win his seventh race in a row.
France-based Reveley said: “It’s my first winner at Cheltenham since I was a claimer about 15 years ago.
“It’s a great feeling and he is a very nice horse. He took a little while to warm up to the British hurdles but he did it really well.”
And Evan Williams’ stable star Libberty Hunter made a hugely impressive return to action when bagging the BetMGM Handicap Chase under Harry Cobden.
He was a fine second in the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham Festival last season and ended his campaign with a third in a Grade 1 at Aintree.
On the evidence of his easy four-length defeat of Issar D’Airy, he will soon be heading back up to the top table.
Cobden said: “He’s improved mentally and physically since last year, he is developing into a really nice horse and it was an armchair ride for me.
“He is probably a little way behind the real top ones, but he has improved a good amount and it’s only his first run of the year, so hopefully there is more to come.”
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