'His form is there for everyone to see' - Townend has faith in Ferny Hollow

Racing Post Novice Chase (Grade 1) | 2m1f | 4yo+ | RTE2/RTV

This looks a match between Ferny Hollow and Riviere D'Etel and it will be fascinating to see how the race works out.

Gordon Elliott has been here before. In 2014, he won this contest with Clarcam, who, like Riviere D'Etel, was in receipt of a hefty weight allowance for being a four-year-old.

Not only does Riviere D'Etel have the weight-for-age allowance, but she also receives the sex allowance, which makes it extremely interesting getting 13lb off Ferny Hollow.

There's also experience to factor in. Riviere D'Etel has not put a foot wrong in three chase starts, while Ferny Hollow arrives after just a beginners' chase success at Punchestown, where he had Coeur Sublime behind.

But he does have class. Winner of the 2020 Champion Bumper, Ferny Hollow is also the only horse who has managed to beat Bob Olinger, and the fact that he already heads the Arkle betting shows what a classy prospect he is over fences.

One can only assume that, if Riviere D'Etel is going to win this, she will have to do it the hard way from the front. She could be a dangerous horse to let loose on the lead but, in Ferny Hollow, she faces something she has never come up against before. It's a race not to be missed.

Townend: 'Ferny Hollow should be winning this if he is what we think he is'

Paul Townend concedes the challenge of giving Riviere D'Etel 13lb and a beating will be no easy task, but he also believes that if Ferny Hollow is the horse everyone in Closutton believes he is, he should be up to the challenge.

The champion jockey was speaking in his Ladbrokes blog ahead of the Christmas period in which he admitted that Ferny Hollow was far from a penalty kick, but revealed confidence was high.

Townend has had the privilege of steering the winner of this three times before. He landed his first success in this Grade 1 on Blackstairmountain in 2011 before following up on another Rich Ricci-owned runner in 2012 when successful on Arvika Ligeonniere.

Footpad delivered a third success in 2017 and Townend is hoping to kickstart his Christmas on another short-priced favourite in Ferny Hollow.

Riviere D'Etel: gets all the allowances in the Racing Post Novice ChaseCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

Townend said: “It is the first Grade 1 that I am going to be riding in over Christmas and Ferny Hollow is a really exciting horse. We haven’t seen a whole lot of him obviously, but his form is there for everyone to see, and he’s beaten Bob Olinger.

“It will be tough to give 13lb to Riviere D’Etel but if Ferny Hollow is going to be what we hope he can be, he should be winning this. It’s not a penalty kick by any means but he couldn’t have jumped any better at Punchestown.”

What they say

Chris Jones, owner of Coeur Sublime
We were delighted with him on his first start over fences at Punchestown. He had schooled well at home before and we always felt that he could make a chaser. We gave it some thought as to where we would run him over Christmas and just felt it was worth having a go at this race. It's turned out to be a small field and hopefully he can run well.

Willie Mullins, trainer of Ferny Hollow and Grand Bornand
Ferny Hollow comes here with very little experience but he has been very impressive when he has appeared on the track. It’s a big step up from a beginners' chase to a Grade 1 novice chase, but he deserves his chance and holds every chance as he looks to have a lot of natural ability. This is a fair step up for Grand Bornand as well. We had to give him a little break after Galway, which was his first run back. I’m hoping there will be plenty of improvement in him, but this is a tough task against a high-class field.

Oliver McKiernan, trainer of Gallant John Joe
It was either run in this or go for a beginners' chase, but some of the beginners' chases are as hot as the Graded races, so we said we'd come here. He's the best horse we have, but he had leg trouble and we're just hoping he can be in the first four or five and that there will be plenty of other days with him. I suppose Ferny Hollow will be hard to beat. He looked very good at Punchestown and is a class horse.

Denis Hogan, trainer of Zoffanien
He's been a bit unlucky over fences. He fell when going well the last day and unseated the time before that. Ferny Hollow and Riviere D'Etel are going to be hard to be beat.

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Riviere D'Etel
She's been brilliant since going over fences but obviously this is going to be a big step up for her again. She's getting all the allowances, so we have to take our chance with her and we’re looking forward to it.

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