STAGE STAR “He won at the Cheltenham Festival last season in the Turners Novices’ Chase, but he will have to step up if he is to go for the Ryanair Chase. I don’t see why he can’t, as all last season he just seemed to keep on improving and the Ryanair is probably what we will train him for. He won well at Warwick, then the ground was a little bit too firm at Newbury, as they all underperformed there. “He came back and won well at Plumpton before winning at Cheltenham in January and then winning back there at the Festival. At the end of the season, at Aintree, we realised we ran him a bit too soon after Cheltenham. “When he is really right and well, and fresh, he is a good horse. His win at Cheltenham in January pointed us in the right direction. He was so good that day with 12 stone on his back and that gave us a lot of belief in him and the track seemed to suit him, so it was all ideal. “I thought he had to improve again in the Turners to win it, but he did and Harry gave him an exceptional ride. He jumped well and he galloped on strong. The biggest key to him so far is that he has needed to go left-handed. “He might start off in the race at Newton Abbot and then go from there, but we will see.”
STAY AWAY FAY “He is likely to be aimed at the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, but he could go for the National Hunt Chase. I think he is capable of doing one or the other. He is a good, strong, solid stayer and I’m convinced that he will jump well. “He pleased us when he made his debut at Newbury and he then should, in my opinion, have won at Doncaster, but it just didn’t work out right. “He then improved again and won very nicely at Cheltenham in the Albert Bartlett. It did surprise me that day the level of form he showed. “He ran well at Aintree, but I think as he had been prepared for Cheltenham, he didn’t win. I think he is going to be a really smart novice chaser. “He has won a point-to-point and he has jumped baby fences at home, so I don’t see it being an issue at all.”
PIC D’ORHY “He could be one that if we change tack with him, the Ryanair could be a race for him. He won his Grade One up at Aintree last season and he does seem to act well on
flat tracks, but he does act at Ascot,
which is undulating. “I wouldn’t see any issue at Cheltenham if the ground was decent. He could definitely be a Ryanair type, as he is a good horse that is improving. He is not set in stone to go to Cheltenham at the moment, but it is definitely a possibility this season. “I think what has helped him develop is just a bit of patience on our part. He has also matured and started to jump nicely and he seems to now have a lot of belief in himself. “I think the fall he had at Newbury the season before last, when he would have won, just woke him up a bit as he has been good since then. He is a good solid jumper now. “He would have to step up again to win a Ryanair, but he has got to be in the mix with all those top horses if he improves a bit. His owner Johnny de la Hey has been a good supporter of the yard and it is important for him to have a good horse like this. He was thrilled with last season.”
22 Kalendar
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