The Alan King-trained Edwardstone has been a regular at the Cheltenham Festival over recent years and will look to bounce back after a disappointing 2024.
After second-place finishes behind Jonbon in both the Shloer Chase and the Tingle Creek, and then fourth in the Silviniaco Conti Chase, the son of Kayf Tara recorded a 40-length victory over Funambule Sivola in February's Game Spirit Chase.
King made the decision following that success to attempt the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham for the second consecutive year, but Edwardstone disappointed once again and his connections will need to head back to the drawing board and decide his future endeavours.
Name: Edwardstone |
Age: 11 |
Weight: 11-10 |
Trainer: Alan King |
Winnings: £617,605 |
Cheltenham Festival wins: 1 |
Runs | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
34 | 10 | 9 | 5 |
Edwardstone is 11 years old and made his debut seven years ago at Newbury, finishing second to Drunken Pirate in November 2018.
Edwardstone last raced off a weight of 11-10, which is the weight he has competed at in five of his last six outings.
Edwardstone has rewarded Abrey and Thurtle with 10 wins from 34 outings and placed on 14 occasions.
The son of Kayf Tara made his debut in November 2018 at Newbury and he finished second in three consecutive races before shedding his maiden tag at Wincanton in November 2019.
Another win at Aintree soon followed in December before he finished sixth in his first appearance at the Cheltenham Festival in March 2020. He was unable to keep up with Shishkin, who won the Supreme Novices' Hurdle that year.
He finished fifth at Cheltenham a year later in the McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle, but he made amends in December 2021, winning the Grade 1 Close Brothers Henry VIII Novices' Chase at Sandown.
His first and only win at the Cheltenham Festival soon followed, as he won the Arkle Chase in March 2022.
Another highlight came in December 2022 when he won the Tingle Creek at Sandown, but he was unable to back that up as he unseated rider Tom Cannon in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton.
The defeat to Energumene in the 2023 Queen Mother Champion Chase led to questions from both inside and outside the camp, with King admitting he could not fathom why the gelding had struggled, while a post-race examination from the vet showed no abnormalities.
After a 249-day break, he returned to the track in November 2023, finishing second to Jonbon in the Schloer Chase.
Jonbon got the better of him again in the Tingle Creek, while Edwardstone was unable to finish the Queen Mother Champion Chase in March 2024, falling at a crucial point of the race.
Edwardstone has since finished third on three occasions and second at Kempton, but connections will hope he can return to the winners' enclosure this spring.
Edwardstone is 80/1 to win the Champion Chase at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. That remains the only race he is entered in at this year's Festival.
Edwardstone is owned by Abrey and Thurtle, who also bred him, which means they were able to save a considerable amount of money compared to rival owners.
Alan King has overseen Edwardstone's development, contributing his fair share of the handler's 2000+ winners.
Born in Scotland, he is based in Wroughton, Wiltshire and took out his licence upon David Nicholson's retirement in June 2000, having previously worked as an assistant to the two-time Champion trainer.
To date, he has trained 16 Cheltenham winners, the first being Fork Lightning, who took out the National Hunt Chase in 2004.
King also counts Flat star Trueshan among his string, with the eight-year-olds 2023 highlights including wins in the Group 2 Doncaster Cup and Group 1 Prix du Cadran.
Edwardstone's chase rating is now 161 after six races without a win.
Edwardstone has won £617,605 to date in total prize money, with £393,491 coming from race wins.
King had hinted that he could take on Jonbon and Energumene in the Clarence House Chase, but connections decided against that outing and are keeping their cards close to their chest.
Edwardstone's last win came in the Game Spirit at Newbury in February last year and King is contemplating another run in the race.
He told Ireland Live: "We'll go one race at a time, but I'd have thought that's quite likely."
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.