Dodging Bullets Fires in Queen Mother Chase

Dodging Bullets held off tenacious longshot Somersby to win the group I Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse in England March 11, giving Paul Nicholls a fifth victory in the two-mile test.



Ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, 9-2 third choice Dodging Bullets made the lead going up the hill around the turn for home. In the stretch, Dodging Bullets and 33-1 shot Somersby engaged in a duel, while also being challenged by Special Tiara, before the winner dug in for the victory. Seven lengths behind Special Tiara, sent to post at 18-1 odds, was 2014 Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Sire De Grugy. Sprinter Sacre, winner of the marathon race in 2013 by 19 lengths, was pulled up by rider Barry Gerahty.



Dodging Bullets, 7-year-old son of Dubawi bred in Great Britain by the flat jockey Frankie Dettori, cost 8,000 guineas as a yearling when originally sold to race on the flat with Andy Oliver in Ireland. He was subsequently bought privately by Tom Malone to join Nicholls.



Dodging Bullets, who races for a syndicate called Martin Broughton and Friends, has won 10 of 27 starts, including the Sodexo Clarence House Steeplechase at Ascot in January.



"He would have liked the ground a bit slower and I thought Sam gave him a fantastic ride," said Nicholls, who had three wins on the Ladies Day program that is the second day of the Cheltenham Festival. "The horse won't run again this season and I expect we'll be dreaming all summer. The whole aim will be to come here again in a year's time.



"The horse has always had breathing issues and we've run him three times with a tongue tie and three times he has won," the trainer said. "Today's win is so good for the whole team, because we have had a few little issues with the horse. It takes forever to learn how to train these horses and we have got him right now. Harry Derham rides him every single day, knows him better than anybody, and he will be made up."



Dettori, who was on hand to watch the race, said: "Sam gave him a fantastic ride—he jumped like a stag and was gutsy all the way to the line. He was bred to win the Derby, but this is second best. It's the equivalent of the 100 meters final at the Olympics and what a horse. You have to give credit to Dodging Bullets, he did all the work."



Sprinter Sacre's trainer, Nicky Henderson, said the horse will be given a thorough check-up before any thoughts of retirement are considered.



"His heart is OK, which is the main thing," Henderson said. "(Jockey) Barry (Geraghty) said he was a bit noisy going up the back and it sounds like it's something internal."



In the Handicap Chase, a photographer was knocked over when two horses careered left and crashed through the running rail after jumping a fence.



Photographer Patrick McCann went to hospital with a suspected broken ankle after the race, which was won by Rivage d'Or (16-1).



Champion jockey Tony McCoy went a second day without a winner in his final appearance at Cheltenham before retiring.



Attendance Wednesday of 55,859 represented a 10.87% increase over the 2014 Ladies Day crowd of 50,382.