We had two very promising runs from stable debutants on Friday, starting with Silver Jet in the 2m5f maiden hurdle. He jumped fantastically and did all of his best work at the end, so stamina is definitely his forte and that’s where his future lies, up in trip and over fences in due course. We were really pleased with his performance, and we hope he’ll come forward plenty. He should have no problem winning a maiden or a novice hurdle come January.
Iwontbackdown, the other stable debutant, won a bumper over in Ireland and we couldn’t picked a hotter bumper to start him in over here! We thought we’d try him at Listed level, rather than run round under a penalty in an ordinary bumper. He made up a lot of ground turning for home and battled on well to finish a really decent fourth. He’ll have learnt plenty, and we have done about him, and he’s a lovely prospect for the future. We’ll stick to bumpers with him this season, probably heading next to Newbury on Betfair Hurdle Day for their Listed bumper in early February.
Unfortunately, Might I answered one question during his run and, thus, he’s not going to make a chaser. He’s a talented hurdler and, although he can jump, he’s far tidier over hurdles. We can’t seem to iron out his mistakes over the larger obstacles, despite all the hard work we’ve done schooling at home, so we’ll revert to hurdles and campaign him over the remainder of the season.
Wincanton, Boxing Day
We have two runners on Boxing Day, starting with Armathia in the 1m7f Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (12:53). She’ll be all the better for her return at Ludlow last month, and we’d like to see her get the basics right, first and foremost, jumping and settling. She’s been to Wincanton twice before, and I’m hoping that she will stay on well at the business end.
Mr Monopoly – who goes in the bumper (15:45) – will, likewise, benefit enormously from his first run over course and distance at the beginning of November. He was very green and showed his inexperience that day, but seems much sharper at home so, hopefully, he can take a big step forward and be competitive.
Kempton, Wednesday
Just one runner on Wednesday; Boothill in the Grade 2 Desert Orchid (14:30), which is now being run as a Limited Handicap Chase for the first time. He won the Grade 2 Wayward Lad over the course and distance on the same day last year and he’s been in really good form so far this season, winning both starts at Ascot. He’s a little bit higher in the weights now, but we were all set to test him in Grade 1 company in the Tingle Creek, until conditions went against us and, if he’s truly up to that level, then he should run well in this handicap.
We’re just taking one race at a time with him but, if this goes to plan, then we’ll likely look at the Grade 2 Game Spirit Chase at Newbury in February, hoping to keep the momentum building towards Cheltenham in March. He’s won two nice prizes already this term and it would be great to see him bring in a third for his connections.
Have a fantastic Christmas.
All the best,
Harry
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