Top 40 winners No Drama This End & Keep Him Company

Fourteen times champion trainer Paul Nicholls won the Grade 1 Challow Novices' Hurdle at Newbury for a record seventh time on Monday. No Drama This End had impressed when winning a couple of Grade 2 events at Cheltenham and Sandown in testing ground earlier in the season. Encountering a much quicker surface and racing for a third time in 45 days, the Walk In The Park gelding overcame the different circumstances making all the running and defeating the 129 rated Klimt Madrik by a length and a quarter. While the performance lacked the wow factor of his two previous successes, it was still an excellent effort on ground which would have been quick enough for the strapping grey. Nicholls indicated afterwards that he will head straight to Cheltenham in March with the Turners Novices' Hurdle his most likely target. Despite being a prohibitive price, his victory was a welcome winner for the Top 40 in One Jump Ahead.

Less than an hour later, Keep Him Company (100/30) supplied the same section with another winner when maintaining his unbeaten record in the bumper at Leopardstown. The former pointer had produced a strong staying performance to win a similar event at Punchestown a month ago and it was more of the same here. Tapped for speed when the tempo lifted entering the home straight, Gordon Elliott's responded generously when asked for maximum effort by Josh Williamson. Once hitting the front inside the final furlong, the five year old stretched away to score by four and a half lengths. Granted slow ground, he shouldn't be underestimated in the Graded bumpers during the second half of the season - stablemate Jalon D'Oudairies won the same event before finishing third in the Cheltenham Festival bumper in 2023. His win capped a magnificent four days for the Cullentra outfit who sent out 18 winners from 77 runners, including three Grade 1 victories. 

There has been some terrific racing over the last four days (26th - 29th December) in between plenty of ropey low grade handicaps, especially in the North - Wetherby's two day fixture is very much in need of some attention. Below are some statistics for various stables over the Festive period.

Dan SKELTON 6 winners from 33 Runners, Paul NICHOLLS 5 winners from 17 Runners, Nicky HENDERSON 2 winners from 14 Runners, Joel PARKINSON & SUE SMITH 4 winners from 17 Runners, Jonjo & A.J.O'NEILL 4 winners from 17 Runners, Joe TIZZARD 0 winners from 14 Runners, Willie MULLINS 11 winners from 66 Runners, Gordon ELLIOTT 18 winners from 77 Runners, Henry De BROMHEAD 5 winners from 43 Runners and Gavin CROMWELL 2 winners from 41 Runners.