Angels Breath continued his love affair with Ascot, as he won his third race at the Berkshire course with success in the Jacquart Noel Novices’ Chase.
Despite the 2m 5f contest holding Grade 2 status, just one other horse lined up in opposition, the Paul Nicholls-trained Mont Des Avaloirs who was sent off as a 4/1 shot, to try upset the odds with the 1/5 favourite.
Nicky Henderson’s grey made every yard of the running under Nico De Boinville, and once increasing the tempo from the third-last to the home bend, the five-year-old simply pulled further and further clear to claim the first prize of £19,932.
That success, his third since making a winning debut in a Moira four-year-old maiden for Pat Doyle in April 2018, came at a cost however, as the son of Shantou suffered a cut to his off-fore tendon.
“We’ve not brought him in, as there is a cut on the back of his off-fore tendon,” explained Henderson.
“They are just going to go down and clean it and wrap it up and take him home. The most important thing is to clean it, as there is a lot of muck out there.
“He has done nothing wrong the whole way around. They are good guys here and will clean it up and let us know later on.
“He was superb. He was a bit untidy at one fence coming up the hill and that is probably where he did it.”
Class - Angels Breath skips round @Ascot to make it two from two over fences in the Grade 2 Jacquart Noel Novices' Chase for @NdeBoinville and @sevenbarrows %uD83D%uDE80 pic.twitter.com/R89iMu9bvI
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) December 20, 2019
