Grosvenor Sport Harry Skelton

Harry Skelton: Cobra De Mai is ready to rock – we couldn’t have him better

There is some very competitive action at Cheltenham on Saturday and we’ve got a nice squad heading down there. There is also some decent racing at Aintree on Sunday so it’s going to be a busy weekend for the yard.

 

Cobra De Mai – 2:00

This is always a really strong race and it’s not going to be easy for Cobra De Mai having to lump top weight off a mark of 153. He’s been working really well, though, and we honestly couldn’t have him any better, he’s ready to rock.

He was very good when he won at Cheltenham in April but this will tougher. It will tell us a lot about where we’re going to go next. If he was to win, we’d have to be looking at graded company.

We run two more in this, Get On The Yager and Captain Chaos. We’re looking forward to getting Get On The Yager back on the racecourse, but he normally takes a run to get going. Tristan Durrell rides him with a view to coming back to the November meeting for the amateur riders’ race.

Captain Chaos ran okay at Chepstow the other week on his reappearance, although he’s another who takes a couple of runs to get going. Hopefully he will have improved a bit from that, he really wants soft ground and we’re targeting mid-winter with him.

 

Marracudja – 3:10

Marracudja ran alright at Chepstow on his reappearance and I’d hope we’ll see some improvement from there. He won over course and distance at this meeting a few years ago when trained by Paul [Nicholls], so we know he handles the track. It looks a very competitive race, though.

 

Two Taffs – 3:45

Two Taffs has been off the track for two years and it’s great to get him back. He’ll obviously come on plenty for it, but he shows us all the right signs at home that he’s still got the ability. We’ll start him off here and then see where we go.

 

Big G – 5:30

Big G is a nice horse who ran well in a bumper at Stratford in March. He’s been pleasing us at home and hopefully he’ll run well, but this is a much hotter race. He looks a jumper in the making, we’ll see how we get on.

 

Aintree, Sunday

Frisson Collonges – 12:40

We run this son of Coastal Path in the maiden hurdle and he’s a really likeable horse with a very good attitude, but it will be all about fences for him in 12 months’ time. You’ll see what I mean when you watch him on TV. Frisson Collonges is a big, old fashioned chaser and even though he’s been going nicely at home, anything he does over hurdles will be a bonus.

 

Hear No Evil – 2:25

Hear No Evil has been off the track for quite some time and while he has done plenty of work, he’ll be sure to come on for the run. From what we’ve seen at home he retains all his ability and if we get a clear run with him, he’s one to keep onside this season.

 

Born Survivor – 3:00

There is plenty of rain forecast in the Liverpool area over the weekend if it gets really soft he won’t run, he is ground dependent. We’re really happy with Born Survivor, he goes well fresh, had a lovely weight and we’re looking forward to seeing how he fares.

If he runs really well, then we’ll be looking at the graded route. This is a very strong race, though. Frodon has to carry plenty of weight, but sometimes Grade One winners can take an awful lot of beating in handicaps. Kalashnikov has to be a massive danger as well.

 

Shannon Bridge – 3:35

We’ve been delighted with Shannon Bridge at home. He ran well at Cheltenham this time last year but for whatever reason didn’t perform after that. He’s schooled great, loves soft ground and goes well fresh. I’d say he’d be my best chance of the weekend, he should run a big race.

 

Global Harmony – 4:10

She has improved hand over fist for a summer break and we hope she’ll run very well in this mares’ bumper. Global Harmony is definitely a jumper in the making, but she’s only four and there’s no need to rush.

 

Take a look at all our horse racing betting markets.

Comments

comments

Comments

Leave a Reply