Castle Mane will have his Cheltenham Festival sights lowered after finishing only fourth to the Irish challenger It's Himself when long odds-on for the Walrus Hunters' Chase at Haydock Park today.
The eight-year-old was not always jumping with his usual fluency, making a couple of mistakes, but he still had every chance approaching the final fence before weakening to finish nine lengths adrift of the winner.
His trainer Caroline Bailey said afterwards: 'I don't think he will go for the Gold Cup after that, it wasn't a good enough performance, though to be fair to him, he will come on for the race and being off for 10 days after Christmas will not have helped him.
'He was having his first run of the season while most of the others had been out, so he was at a bit of a disadvantage there. Obviously, if his owner wanted to go for the big one we would have to think about it again, but I should think he will go for the Christies Foxhunters' Chase (which he won last year).'
It's Himself was ridden by his trainer Tony Martin who said afterwards: 'I think he is a good horse. He has had only four runs in points and this was his first run under rules, so I think he will be a bit too novicey for the big fences at Aintree but he will go for the Foxhunters at Cheltenham.'
Sadly, the race was marred when the gallant Scottish-trained mare, Jigtime, collapsed and died as she returned to the unsaddling enclosure after finishing just ahead of Castle Mane in third place.
Venetia Williams and Andrew Thornton took the overall honours at the Merseyside track when completing trebles, the former scoring with Zahari, Bramblehill Duke and Scotia Nostra, her only runners at the meeting, none of them finding any problem with the heavy ground.
Thornton was reaching his half-century for the season when gaining his first success for the Williams' stable on Zahari, who came home a distance clear of the runner-up in the Levy Board Novices' Hurdle.
He celebrated by doubling up on Bramblehill Duke in the First Time Novices' Chase and completed his treble on the Mary Reveley-trained Merry Masquerade.
He said afterwards: 'It is nice to get to 50 and add a couple to it. It is my first triple at Haydock and I must have half a sniff at beating my best score of 80.'
Zahari is now 33-1 with Sean Graham for the Elite Racing Triumph Hurdle and Miss Williams' representative, Jerry Roberts, said of Zahari: 'The intention is, I believe, to run in the Triumph Hurdle, that is why the entry was made, but of course, the boss will have to discuss it with the owners.'
Merry Masquerade took the Ladbroke Casinos Handicap Hurdle to complete a double for Mrs Reveley initiated by the Tony Ross-ridden October Mist in the Haydock Park Sponsorship Club Novices' Handicap Hurdle.
Both horses are pencilled in for Cheltenham, with October Mist now 20-1 from 25-1 for the Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle while Merry Masquerade is 16-1 for the Bonusprint Stayers' Hurdle, prices again offered by Sean Graham.
However, Ray Scholey, whose wife Margaret owns October Mist, said after watching the gelding make it four wins in a row: 'If the ground is soft he would go there, and I would back him. He would not run if it was good ground.'
And Mrs Reveley's husband George said of Merry Masquerade: 'The question again is the ground. As you saw there, he wants it soft and conditions would need to be right if he is to go to Cheltenham.' -PA
