It is safe to say that the first two weeks of the year have been tough for racing yards up and down the country. The bitterly inclement weather put paid to many of our plans and so we are delighted to see temperatures raise a little as a big weekend approaches.
The Berkshire Winter Million seems to be turning into our biggest weekend of the season so far, and we are very excited to be running some nice horses across the Windsor and Ascot cards.
Friday
We start with Gidleigh Park on Friday in the Grade Two Lightning Novices’ Chase at Windsor (13:50). He hasn’t been seen since atrial fibrillation scuppered his chase debut at Kempton in November. Since then, I must say that we have been very happy with him and his schooling has gone really well. He’ll face a stern task here as he steps into Graded company and I must admit this race wouldn’t have been our first choice, but options are few and far between for him. I’d say this is a new starting point for him after what happened at Kempton, but I think if he does everything right then he can definitely be competitive. We’re excited to have him back on the racecourse.
Later on the card we run Beat The Bat in the valuable Sovereign Handicap Hurdle (15:35). He drops in trip to two miles after not being able to run in the cancelled Lanzarote last week. We thought that in the circumstances a run back over the minimum trip would be suitable and we think he holds every chance. We know he stays further, but the soft ground they’re expecting ought to suit. He’s in good form in himself and I think he should be very competitive.
Saturday
Altobelli kicks off proceedings for us on Saturday at Ascot (14:50). We were really pleased with his return at Doncaster, albeit plans A, B and C went out of the window at the first hurdle! It was good to see him finish the race well and this step up in trip looks to be right up his street. Ascot is also a track that he’s ran well at in the past, particularly last season over two miles. He’s got the cheekpieces on this time too just to sharpen him up a little, and I think he has a really strong chance.
One look at the Clarence House Chase (15:32) market would make you think Boothill is really up against it, but we are very much looking forward to running him. He has been fine since his fall in the Desert Orchid where he looked to be going particularly well. But look, jumping is the name of the game, and he’s schooled nicely in the build up to Saturday. Jonbon and Energumene set a very high standard, and you’d expect to face horses of their calibre in a Grade One. He might be dismissively priced as things stand, but we’d like to think his record at the track will stand him in great stead for a big effort come Saturday. We hope we can give the big two a run for their money.
We also send Might I to Taunton on Saturday (15:15) and I would happily hold my hands up and say we got it wrong on his last start at Cheltenham. We ran him over the wrong trip, where he did too much over the three miles in the cheekpieces. This looks a winnable opportunity against some relatively exposed opposition, especially with Ciaran O’Shea’s valuable seven-pound claim, so I’d like to think over this more suitable trip he can run a big race.
Sunday
In Excelsis Deo reverts to hurdles later on the card (14:30) after his jumping has let him down on his last two outings. He’s in good form in himself at home and he’s schooled well over the smaller obstacles in the lead up to Sunday. We’re viewing this as an opportunity to boost his confidence and it’ll be interesting to see how he goes over the three-mile trip too. Saying that, there’s no reason to suggest that he can’t be competitive either and it will be interesting to see how he gets on.
We were thrilled when Idaho Sun won on bumper debut at Newton Abbot in October and we’re looking forward to getting him out again later on the Windsor card (16:10). The form of that Newton Abbot race is working out really well. Our guy has come forward from that run and he’s in fine form at home, and we’re excited to see how he fares in deeper waters.
Star Walking is also in on Sunday as she heads up to Fakenham (14:45). She is a course winner from last year and this will be her handicap debut. Off her mark, we thought she was worth her chance for the prize on offer. Hopefully, she can make the most of her rating at the first time of asking.
Soul Limbo also heads to Fakenham later on the card (15:55) and I would say he didn’t handle the soft conditions of his only Rules start at Chepstow in October. The expected better ground will be more his bag, and it will be interesting to see how he gets on at a totally different style track to Chepstow. He does have to step up on what he did on debut, but we like him and hope he can build on that effort.
Have a great weekend,
Harry