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Sky Bet Chase 2013
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Calgary Bay, a comfortable winner of last season’s Listed Sky Bet Chase, tly heads the weights on 11st 12lb for this year’s renewal along with Grade Two winner Midnight Chase and improving seven-year-old Bold Sir Brian.
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The weights for the 75,000 contest, which takes place over three miles at Doncaster on Saturday, January 26, have been revealed.
In-form trainer Venetia Williams has three possible runners among the 37 remaining entries including progressive French import Katenko and Summery Justice .
Matt Sheppard is hoping stable star Ikorodu Road can land another valuable prize. The lightly-raced 10-year-old showed a tremendous attitude when winning the Scottish Grand National.
He was last seen finishing fifth in a hotly-contested handicap chase at Doncaster in December won by Emma Lavelle’s Court By Surprise, who is likely to reoppose.
Sheppard said: “There is a good chance Ikorodu Road will run in the Sky Bet Chase. He will also have an entry in a veterans’ chase at Exeter just before but he needs good or good to soft ground and I can’t see it being like that at Exeter.
“Ideally, he wants a couple of furlongs further than three miles but he has been in excellent form since his run at Doncaster. We have been praying for some better ground and hoped to run him in the Classic Chase at Warwick (last Saturday) but the ground was too soft.
“He definitely has another big race in him. He wants three and a half miles but we haven’t been able to put it all together and, longer term, I would imagine he will go for the Grimthorpe again.
“When he broke the track record at Newbury last season, the ground must have been quite quick and when he went to Ayr he must have been jarred up but you don’t know that until you run them - we could look at the Scottish Grand National again.”
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Other notable contenders include last year’s third Fruity O’Rooney, Carruthers and Donald McCain's Grand National winner Ballabriggs.
Sky Bet Chase (Listed Handicap)
75,000 added, 5yo plus, 3m, Class 1
37 entries
| Form | Horse | Age | Wt | Trainer |
| 1114-11 | Bold Sir Brian (IRE) 50 | 7 | 11-12 | Miss Lucinda V Russell |
| 5110-P4 | Calgary Bay (IRE) 49 | 10 | 11-12 | M R Channon |
| F310-3P | Midnight Chase 29 | 11 | 11-12 | N P Mulholland |
| 121/46-P | BallaBriggs (IRE) 49 | 12 | 11-9 | D McCain Jnr |
| 210010/ | Silver By Nature 658 | 11 | 11-9 | Miss Lucinda V Russell |
| 411-051 | Cape Tribulation 31 | 9 | 11-8 | J M Jefferson |
| 3201-P4 | Hector's Choice (FR) 57 | 9 | 11-5 | R Lee |
| 345P-22 | Walkon (FR) 42 | 8 | 11-5 | A King |
| 00-R001 | Carruthers 31 | 10 | 11-4 | M Bradstock |
| 04-F021 | Katenko (FR) 21 | 7 | 11-4 | Miss V Williams |
| P/1334-2 | Cappa Bleu (IRE) 75 | 11 | 11-3 | Evan Williams |
| 3/1PPU-0 | Always Right (IRE) 260 | 11 | 11-2 | John Wade |
| 3/10-13U | Nadiya De La Vega (FR) 42 | 7 | 11-2 | N J Henderson |
| 153F12 | Shoegazer (IRE) 21 | 8 | 11-1 | D Pipe |
| 0/015U-6 | Tatenen (FR) 42 | 9 | 11-1 | R Rowe |
| 2511-20 | Duke Of Lucca (IRE) 56 | 8 | 10-13 | P J Hobbs |
| 4U01-F4 | Saint Are (FR) 43 | 7 | 10-13 | Tim Vaughan |
| 3P0-42P | Galaxy Rock (IRE) 70 | 9 | 10-11 | Jonjo O'Neill |
| 112P-P0 | Harry The Viking 56 | 8 | 10-11 | P F Nicholls |
| 325-003 | Fruity O'Rooney 21 | 10 | 10-10 | G L Moore |
| 04-1311 | Mister Hyde (IRE) 30 | 8 | 10-10 | Jonjo O'Neill |
| 0-23602 | Mr Moonshine (IRE) 31 | 9 | 10-10 | Mrs S J Smith |
| 11P-405 | Ikorodu Road 42 | 10 | 10-9 | M Sheppard |
| 1/R2-U15 | Alvarado (IRE) 58 | 8 | 10-6 | F M O'Brien |
| 1P1/401- | Summery Justice (IRE) 276 | 9 | 10-6 | Miss V Williams |
| 011-506 | Merigo (FR) 31 | 12 | 10-5 | A Parker |
| 43F543 | Cootehill (IRE) 42 | 9 | 10-4 | N A Twiston-Davies |
| 0PP-B23 | Tullamore Dew (IRE) 21 | 11 | 10-4 | N J Gifford |
| 3602-30 | De Boitron (FR) 42 | 9 | 10-3 | Ferdy Murphy |
| 3P62-31 | Court By Surprise (IRE) 42 | 8 | 10-2 | Miss E C Lavelle |
| 0-00016 | Pentiffic (NZ) 16 | 10 | 10-2 | Miss V Williams |
| 1F01-04 | Baile Anrai (IRE) 14 | 9 | 10-0 | Ian Williams |
| P35F-0U | Billie Magern 43 | 9 | 10-0 | N A Twiston-Davies |
| F0144-6 | Riguez Dancer 101 | 9 | 10-0 | Ferdy Murphy |
| 0/44-060 | Gullible Gordon (IRE) 21 | 10 | 9-11 | P Bowen |
| 13F213 | Sizing Santiago (IRE) 30 | 7 | 9-11 | P Bowen |
| 05-1133 | Hunters Lodge (IRE) 56 | 7 | 9-8 | N A Twiston-Davies |
