Cheltenham produced two Danish-Norwegian threads in one of the biggest handicaps of the British jumps season on Saturday afternoon. The Paddy Power Gold Cup went to J.P. McManus’ Meetmebythesea, but third place fell to Torneo, bred by Morten Buskop in partnership with the French IEI SAS — and Stutteri Hjortebo-bred Dunkerque finished sixth on his first start in Class 1.
The field had shrunk from 15 declared to ten runners, with four taken out because of the ground and a fifth on a vet’s certificate.
Meetmebythesea (Watar) was sent off the 2/1 favourite and won by two and a half lengths from Blueking d’Oroux (Jeu St Eloi), with a further not quite three lengths back to Torneo (Toronado). The winning time was 4min 52.36sec — 8.64 seconds faster than standard over the two miles four and a half furlongs and 16 fences.
The win belonged to Harry Cobden and Ben Pauling, but above all to the owner. The race has been run since 1960, and it was J.P. McManus’ first success in it. From this year it also carries a registered name, the William Holman Gold Cup, after the trainer who won the Grand National three times.
Dunkerque picked up prize money on his first Class 1 start
Dunkerque (Appel Au Maitre) came home sixth, just under twenty lengths behind the winner. He was in rear, made some headway from four out, but had emptied before the second last. Sixth place was worth £2,144 all the same, and he carried the lowest weight in the field at 10st 5lb, going off at 33/1 after opening at 50/1.
It was his first start in Class 1. Before Saturday he had seven starts in steeplechases behind him, all in Class 3 and Class 4, and he had been in the first three in every one of them.
The six-year-old grey is bred at Stutteri Hjortebo, owned by Shaun Henley, trained by Jennie Candlish and was ridden by Sean Quinlan. He is a full brother to Doc Holliday (Appel Au Maitre), who won the Svenskt Derby in July for Glæsner Racing.
A Norwegian breeding share in third place
Behind Torneo stands a Norwegian breeding share. The six-year-old bay gelding by Toronado out of Abbronzatissima (Teofilo) was bred by Morten Buskop in partnership with the French IEI SAS, Philip Lybeck of Haras de Bourgeauville. He is trained by Jamie Snowden, was ridden by Gavin Sheehan and carried 10st 7lb.
Torneo now has 27 starts and six wins under rules for around £127,000, four of those wins from 16 starts in steeplechases. He last won a Class 2 handicap at Ffos Las on 14 October, and in April he took a Class 3 handicap at Chepstow.
As a two-year-old he was sold for €130,000 at Arqana’s breeze up in Deauville in May 2022, and again for €110,000 at the summer sale at the same place in July 2023.
The dam is in the catalogue at Deauville
And this is where third place takes on an extra dimension. Abbronzatissima is lot 702 in the catalogue for Arqana’s Vente d’Automne, which is held at Deauville from Monday 16 to Thursday 19 November. The mare is consigned by Haras de Bourgeauville and, according to the catalogue, she was covered on 16 May by Nirvana Du Berlais and is confirmed in foal.
Nirvana Du Berlais won both the Prix Cambacérès and the Aguado Hurdle in Grade 3 as a three-year-old and has stood at stud since 2020. Abbronzatissima herself won two races in Italy, and she comes from a powerful French family: her third dam Light The Lights won the Prix de Pomone (Gr.2) and is the dam both of Latice, who won the Prix de Diane (Gr.1), and of Lawman, who took the Prix du Jockey Club and the Prix Jean Prat (Gr.1) and later went to stud.
The catalogue page was of course printed before Torneo ran at Cheltenham. That gives the breeders something to think about before she goes through the ring. “Now we will have to see whether the reserve should be adjusted, or whether we should perhaps keep her”, Morten Buskop writes in a message to GalopSport.
