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Coral Champions Club breaks new ground buying two jump racehorses

| 25.11.2014
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

The Coral Champions Club (CCC), launched in April 2012, is breaking new ground this winter with the purchase of two racehorses to go jumping in training with Dan Skelton and Harry Fry.
Up until now The Coral Champions Club has focussed solely on flat racing with leased horses in training with Jeremy Gask, Medicean Bliss and Miss Laroc being the latest horses to represent the Club.

Last month Coral decided to break new ground with the CCC and gave Dan Skelton and Harry Fry the brief to each purchase a suitable horse to campaign this winter for the Club members, with Harry Fry buying the three year old Template, and Dan Skelton purchasing the five year old mare, Bin Chic.

“The Coral Champions Club has proved a great success, enabling us to deliver the excitement and enjoyment of a racing syndicate to our customers, whilst also providing them with exclusive betting offers and competition prizes to reward them for their loyalty to Coral”, said Simon Clare, Coral Spokesman.

“The ultimate benefit however is the chance to become an owner for the day when one of our horses run, and over the last three years hundreds of members have experienced the unique thrill of being a racehorse owner. To date the Club has focused solely on the Flat but it seemed like a natural evolution to branch put into Jump racing. We therefore identified two young, progressive trainers in Dan Skelton and Harry Fry, and are looking forward to working with them over the next five months,” added Clare.

Harry Fry, purchased Template for 8,000gns for the CCC at the recent Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sales. Template ran for Richard Hannon as a two year old, finishing third to Toast Of New York in a maiden, and then had his three year old career with Amanda Perrett. The plan is to start him off in a juvenile hurdle in early December.

Dan Skelton purchased Bon Chic, a five year old mare by Presenting, for £18,000 at the Doncaster Autumn Sales. Bon Chic won a mares bumper at Punchestown on her latest start and is a half-sister to Brackloon High. Bon Chic will run in a mares hurdle race around Christmas time.

Coral is the only bookmaker in the UK to run a free-to-join racing club. In addition to the chance to become an owner for the day, Club members receive a weekly newsletter with tips, betting offers and exclusive interviews with racing personalities, regular competitions with high value prizes, and the opportunity to visit the racing yards on Club open days.

Here’s what Harry Fry had to say about Template:

“He is a nice stamp of a horse and he has got form over a trip on the Flat and he acts of all sorts of different going. When buying Flat horses it is important that they have to attributes to be able to adapt to the jumps game. They have to have some size and scope so they can jump and stamina as well. The other plus is that he has already been schooled over hurdles so that helps us when we get him in the school at home and jumpin. That is why we were keen on the horse as he had already shown that bit of form over a good distance and what really helps us is that he has already shown that he goes well over hurdles.”

Dan Skelton gave us his views on Bon Chic:

“I think we have done really well to buy this mare and I think she is a bargain at the money we bought her for. I think she is a really nice horse. She was the good winner of a bumper last time out and while she had the experience over her rivals with it being her fifth start she had been on the go since April and was winning in October. She has been a busy girl and that is obvious from the look of her but watching the video of that run you have to be impressed with the way she won. “She is clearly very tough and is from a good family.

“I learnt last year that you have got to be gentle with the ladies. We only need to be doing enough with her to keep her ticking over and teaching her to jump well in preparation for her first run for the club. With Flat horses you need to teach them how to jump and in theory it is not a natural thing to them which is why they do not all make the transition. With a horse bred to go jumping, it is a more natural thing for them to do and I’d like to think that will be the case with her as well. We also know that she stays at least two miles, which is crucial. In her lifetime she has also shown a level of form in bumpers which means she should be able to beat those type of horses when they race against each other over hurdles. That is something you are guessing at a little more with a horse coming from the Flat. I will probably look to start her in a mares’ novice hurdle around Christmas time over two or two and a half miles although I think she will get three miles in time. I’m not going to be pushing every button with her in the spring as I think she is a mare with real longevity and will be a cracking novice chaser. She should be a fun horse for the club and I am looking forward to her running.”

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Author

Simon Clare

Simon Clare joined Coral in 1997 as Racecourse PR representative and was
promoted to Coral PR Director in October 2002. Between 2008 to 2011 Clare
added Trading to his responsibilities in a new role as Coral Trading & PR
Director. In 2011 he relinquished his Trading responsibilities and assumed a
new wider role of PR & Broadcast Director responsible for all Coral Public
Relations activity, CoralTV and Social Media. Clare has extensive broadcast
experience on radio and television commenting on a diverse range of betting events from the obvious - horse racing, football and sport - to the more obscure - politics, reality TV, showbiz and the weather.
Simon Clare is a keen sports fan, still turning out for Carshalton FC on a
Saturday when work allows.