Update from Venetia in today's RP but it's behind the paywall.
'It's been tough - you can't expect continuous acceleration' - Venetia Williams opens up on troublesome season
All in a day's work: Venetia Williams in the office at Aramstone stables
Venetia Williams has had just seven winners this season
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Venetia Williams has opened up on a challenging season before her stable star L'Homme Presse bids to turn the tide in the William Hill Denman Chase at Newbury on Saturday.
The Herefordshire trainer will be represented by last month's Cotswold Chase runner-up in the feature staying chase, with the veteran one of the yard's leading lights still competing at the highest level.
Williams is renowned for her prolific strike-rate in the winter months but believes the composition of her stable has been partly to blame for a difficult campaign that has seen her saddle just seven winners and none in 2026, with the trainer's last 63 runners beaten.
"There's nothing we can put a finger on," she said. "We're having a transitional season with the horses we have. We’ve had injuries to some of our better horses that had been running well like Djelo, who picked up an injury in the King George.
"Victtorino is another we’ve relied on in recent seasons and he came back from Ascot in December with a fracture. Royale Pagaille is a good age now and he’s reserved his best performances for the Betfair Chase in the last two years, so you can’t be relying on him to do beyond what he’s already done for us.
"Those sort of horses have batted really well for us in previous seasons, while some of the younger horses have yet to step up and others have their limitations. It’s been tough, but equally it’s important to look at each horse individually. It’s very easy to draw conclusions for the yard as a whole, and that can be a mistake."
Williams has passed the £1 million prize-money barrier in each of the previous four seasons, registering 197 winners in that time, and believes those high performance levels are also having an impact on her figures.
She said: "The horses have punched above their weight in the last couple of seasons and that makes it harder for them because now they’re having to compete at a different level and you can’t expect continuous acceleration. We don’t have the biggest yard in the world and there’s a limit to the horses we’re able to call on."
There was hope the trajectory would change at Taunton on Tuesday, but once again things failed to fall into place for an exasperated Williams and her stable jockey Charlie Deutsch.
She said: "I thought it was all going to change and then Bucksy Des Epeires had a mental blank at the first, went into orbit and sent Charlie skyward, and then Falco Des Pins looked all over the winner going to the second-last and then just slightly hung fire – but one winner here or there isn’t going to change the season for us."
It has been a year since Djelo triumphed in the Denman Chase and another victory in the race would certainly help. L'Homme Presse has already done his part to improve the mood at the Williams yard with two admirable second-placed efforts this season, and he is a 15-8 chance to get the better of three younger rivals.
Spillane's Tower (centre) leads home L'Homme Presse (right) and Grey Dawning (left) in Cotswold Chase
L'Homme Presse (right): gallant in defeat when giving 6lb to Spillane's Tower in the Cotswold Chase
Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Williams said. "He’s run well in both of his starts at Cheltenham. Just under three miles around Newbury will be a slightly different test for him, but I hope he’ll run well.
"Haiti Couleurs has to give us a few pounds, and most of his [L'Homme Presse's] races in recent times have had more emphasis on stamina than this, but hopefully the ground will help with that.
"It wasn’t necessarily the plan to come here, but it was in the back of my mind as a possibility. He’s an 11-year-old who has not had a lot of racing, and with the rating he’s got there aren’t that many opportunities. While the ground is in his favour you have to look at all options."
L'Homme Presse finished fourth in the 2024 Gold Cup despite sustaining an injury in the closing stages, and will likely return to Cheltenham next month as a best-priced 66-1 chance.
Williams added: "We’ll always take it one step at a time and going to Cheltenham would certainly be in my mind, but that would be a whole different ball game."
William Hill Denman Chase (2.10 Newbury, Saturday)
William Hill: 8-13 Haiti Couleurs, 15-8 L'Homme Presse, 10 Leave Of Absence, 50 Riskintheground
