Katate Dori
Katate Dori was only just denied by Herakles Westwood in the three-mile handicap chase at Cheltenham on Thursday. It was an incident-packed race, with Shannon Royale racing lazily and Excello falling and hampering Jasmin De Grugy, who fell himself later, and Does He Know also falling, but it developed into a good battle between Katate Dori and Herakles Westwood, who moved on from Inch House, and it was a battle that Katate Dori only just lost.
Sam Thomas' horse remains a horse of interest though. He hasn't won since he was seriously impressive in winning the Ladbrokes Trophy at Kempton last February off a mark of 125, but this was just his fourth run since. You can allow him his debut this season over hurdles at Aintree, and you can allow him his run in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in November, a race in which he was one of the horses who was inconvenienced by the standing start. He was always playing catch-up thereafter in a race that was run at a moderate pace. This was much more like it, at a track at which he has disappointed twice in the past. This run obviously proves that he can operate at Cheltenham, but it may still be that he will be even better back on a flatter track. He will be of interest specifically if he goes for a repeat in the Ladbrokes Trophy, and he will be of interest in general if and when he goes back to Kempton or Newbury or Wincanton or Aintree.
Cheltenham, 1st January 2026
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