The tremendously popular Robert Thornton celebrated his recent return to the saddle after three months on the sidelines with a broken arm by landing his first graded winner of the year in steering the impressive Invictus (6/1) to victory in the Grade 2 Sodexho Prestige Reynoldstown Novices Chase at Ascot on Saturday, who looks well worth a place in the line-up for the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival 2012 next month, writes Elliot Slater.
With most of the pre-race attention focusing on Silviniaco Conti (11/10f) and 15/8 second-favourite Bobs Worth, (second and third respectively behind Grand Crus at Kempton on Boxing Day in the Grade 1 Feltham Novices Chase), there was little pressure on Thornton and Invictus’ trainer Alan King, but they have never made any secret of the fact that they hold the gelded son of Flemensfirth in high regard despite a reverse on his previous outing when a well beaten third at Cheltenham behind Champion Court in the Dipper Novices Chase. It later transpired that the six-year-old had lost a shoe during that contest and was suffering from a sore foot, so he had a genuine excuse for his below-par effort, something people looking for Cheltenham betting tips should bear in mind.
It was a very different Invictus that racegoers witnessed at Ascot as King’s charge jumped accurately throughout, (something that cannot be said for Bobs Worth, in particular), before being produced to take it up from Silviniaco Conti at the second from home, from where he strode readily clear of the staying-on Bobs Worth to score by an easy three-lengths. His performance prompted an immediate rethink on the part of the ante-post layers who slashed Invictus from a pre-race 50/1 to a general offer of 10/1 for the RSA Chase, whilst at the same time pushing out Bobs Worth from 4/1 to 6/1, and Silviniaco Conti from 12/1 to 25/1.
