Jamie Snowden continues red-hot form with Grade 1 contender Wendigo

Jamie Snowden continued his remarkable start to the season when Wendigo stayed on best to land the Grade 2 Coral John Francome Novices’ Chase.

The trainer, who is only 11 winners off his best seasonal return after sending out a record 18 winners this month, was mobbed in the winner’s enclosure by members of the Racing Club syndicate – which includes his postman – after the six-year-old powered two lengths clear of No Questions Asked.

“He’s a horse we’ve always loved,” said Snowden. “We couldn’t wait to see him over a fence. We’ve been patient with him and that was a great performance. He’s better on slightly softer and we know he stays further. Stamina probably won it and we’ll be going up to three miles.”

Wendigo was cut to 16-1 (from 25s) for the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase and could be stepped up in trip for the Kauto Star Novices’ at Kempton.

“He’s a very classy individual and the future is bright,” added Snowden. “He was fifth in the Albert Bartlett and was a bit unlucky that day. The next race for him could be the Kauto Star over Christmas. I think he’s marginally better left than right-handed but that’s just a bit of a hunch.”

Regent’s Stroll was third on his chase debut for Paul Nicholls, who said: “He jumped brilliantly but just ran too free. He’s got a huge engine but he just did too much in the first mile. It’s testament to him that he kept galloping, but he’s got to learn to relax. We might put a hood on him like we did at Aintree.”