Europe coming back for one more season

Fans of the tremendously popular veteran chaser Sizing Europe have learned that the 12-year-old is set to return to training with one more season in action on the cards despite reports at the end of last term that the Henry de Bromhead-trained star would most likely be retired. 

The gelded son of Pistolet Bleu ended last season with an emotional success at the Punchestown Festival, running-on powerfully from the home turn to beat Ballynagour by five-and-a-half lengths in the Grade 1 Boylesports.com Champion Chase.

Many believed that owners Ann and Alan Potts would send their star performer off to a much deserved retirement following that win but it appears that the old horse has given plenty of indications that he is not yet willing to hang up his racing shoes and has been brought back into training. Connections are set to make a final decision about his future in a couple of months’ time.

In terms of which race guides to look out for over the coming months, it looks like the target for a first run of the 2014-15 campaign is the Grade 2 PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park in October, a two-and-a-half mile contest that Sizing Europe has won for each of the last three seasons, most recently justifying odds-on last autumn when cosily accounting for the smart Ballynagour.

In a career spanning nine jumps season de Bromhead’s charge has won no less than 21 races – 16 in Graded company – from a total of 42 starts. His greatest moment came at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival when, having landed the Grade 1 Arkle Novice Chase Trophy 12 months earlier, he then proved just too good for another Irish star Big Zeb when putting up a memorable performance to land the two-mile chasing crown.

All in all the horse who has also won races at up to three miles has won very nearly £1.3 million in total career prizemoney and is a credit to all involved with him.

Europe team favouring Leopardstown over Kempton

It’s beginning to look as though Sizing Europe, Ireland’s main hope for honours in the forthcoming Grade 1 William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, will not be heading to the Sunbury track to take on Long Run and the rest of the home team and will instead remain on Irish soil and bid for a choice of engagements at the showcase Leopardstown Christmas meeting. 

Henry de Bromhead’s high-class 10-year-old, winner of the 2011 Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and runner-up to Finian’s Rainbow in the same event last season, has proved himself a tremendously versatile performer, complementing his speed and agility over two-miles with the ability to stay up to three miles at Grade 1 level. ante-post list in the Titan Bet horse racing odds for the Kempton highlight prior to the revelation that he would more than likely miss the contest, Sizing Europe is now available at 10/1 and will doubtless be pushed out further as more solid confirmation is revealed about his final plans. Already this season the Ann and Alan Potts-owned gelding has proved himself in great form, beginning the campaign with a seven-and-a-half length defeat of old rival Forpadydeplasterer in the Grade 2 PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park in October, before following up in equally pleasing fashion when accounting for Magnanimity in the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase early last month.

De Bromhead explained that there are two possible options for his former champion chaser at Leopardstown, the Dial-A-Bet Chase over two miles and the Lexus Chase over three miles, and with the weather forecast suggesting stormy weather over the Christmas period, connections are beginning to come around to the view that a journey over from Ireland to England in such conditions would do nothing to enhance the chances of their representative. 

The 2010 winner Long Run remains the rock solid 7/2 favourite for the King George VI Chase with most punters citing the recent Paddy Power Gold Cup hero Al Ferof (5/1) as the most likely danger. Sizing Europe has been introduced into the ante-post market for the Lexus Chase at around 6/1 for a contest that seems likely to be the target of recent impressive winner Flemenstar (2/1) and possibly the Hennessy Gold Cup winner Bob’s Worth (9/4), who represents the in-form Nicky Henderson stable and could lead the British challengers.