Plans for Gaoth Chuil are still to be finalised after Ted Walsh’s consistent mare continued her fine campaign when finishing second at the Dublin Racing Festival.
The six-year-old, whose name translates to tailwind in English, has proven a progressive performer this term and after two placed efforts over two and a half miles, relished the step up in trip at Christmas when striking at Leopardstown in a Pertemps qualifier.
She looked poised to add to her tally in the Irish capital last weekend when fighting out the finish of the valuable Listed handicap with Maxxum, but eventually went down fighting by less than a length to her game rival.
Walsh said: “She’s a good, sound filly, a nice little filly who does everything well. She tries her heart and soul out and is probably getting to the limit of what she can do now after crawling up the handicap, but she has had a good year.
“It would have been nice if she had won the other day, it was a big pot, but she ran nicely to be second.”
Gaoth Chuil is currently disputing favouritism for the Pertemps at the Cheltenham Festival, but despite being delighted with his charge’s efforts this term, Walsh is hesitant to commit the mare to Prestbury Park, pointing out there are other options which may appeal to owner Michael Ryan.
On Cheltenham, Walsh added: “It will all depend, it’s four or five weeks away and I’ll see what the race is looking like.
“If everything was suitable, she might, but Michael Ryan likes Liverpool, he’s had a lot of luck there over the years with Al Eile, who won four times there.
“If he feels like he wants to go to Cheltenham, we will go to Cheltenham – and if not, we will go to Liverpool. She could even stay at home for Fairyhouse and Punchestown, there’s no set idea yet.
“She’s good enough to run respectably at Cheltenham, but whether she is good enough to win it, there is a question mark.”
Gaoth Chuil may end up at Aintree in the spring, but one horse not making the trip to Merseyside this year is Grand National regular Any Second Now.
Third to Minella Times in 2021, he returned to finish second to Noble Yeats 12 months later. However, his third crack at the world’s most famous steeplechase saw the veteran pulled up early into the second circuit, with Walsh feeling he has now seen enough of the famous spruce.
“He ran disappointing in it last year and looked like he had maybe been there once too often,” continued Walsh.
“He’s 12 and not favourably treated in the handicap in England, so there are a whole lot of reasons and when you add them all together, he hasn’t shown a lot in his two runs so far this year and we decided not to go for the English National.
“He had a 10 or 11lb higher handicap mark in England when I entered him in Warwick. He can’t perform well off the mark he has here at the moment, so it is asking a big question to perform off such a figure in Liverpool when he was disappointing there last year.”
Any Second Now will now be campaigned closer to home, with Easter Monday’s Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on the radar if returning to near his best over the coming months.
Walsh added: “Fairyhouse is on the Monday, 10 or 12 days before the English Grand National, so we decided maybe if he showed a bit of spark between now and Fairyhouse, he might run in the Irish National.
“If he is to run in one (a National), Fairyhouse seems to be the one, but it is a big if, he will need to be running better than he is at the moment.
“He might run at Punchestown in the National Trial (on February 18) and he will run a few times between now and Fairyhouse – he won’t go unless he has a good run somewhere.
“He wants to be competitive in some of those races and he won’t be going to make up the numbers; if he goes to Punchestown, or maybe the Leinster National at Naas, I would like to see him do something on track in one of them before I place him in any National.”
A race at Thursday’s evening meeting at Newcastle has been moved to Saturday’s card after it was scheduled to be run after sunset on a section of the track that is not covered by floodlights.
The Find More Big Deals At BetUK Handicap was due to be run over 10 furlongs with a start time of 5.05pm, with sunset just before 5pm in Newcastle.
A statement from the British Horseracing Authority read: “The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Arena Racing Company (ARC) can confirm that the Find More Big Deals At BetUK Handicap, which was due to be staged at Newcastle at 5.05pm today, has been postponed and will be run as part of Saturday’s card at the same venue.
“This move has been agreed after it was identified this morning that the race, which is scheduled to take place over 1m2f42y on the round course, was due to go off after sunset. Only the straight course at Newcastle is covered by floodlights, meaning that it would not be safe to stage the race as planned due to low light.
“The BHA’s General Instructions state that in no circumstances will a race time be altered so that a race is run earlier than the advertised race time. This is due to the implications for the betting public, alongside potential regulatory, safety and logistical issues. While alternative solutions were explored, the decision has ultimately been made to postpone the race.
“Connections of the 10 declared runners have been contacted by the BHA to advise of this change, as well as to offer an apology and a reimbursement payment to assist with costs incurred in having made arrangements for the race to be staged as planned.”
The BHA confirmed that while declarations will stand, non-runners will be allowed without penalty, adding: “We are sorry for any inconvenience and confusion resulting from this error. We will now take steps to identify what caused this issue to ensure it is not repeated.”
Brian Ellison, trainer of one of the favourites Explorers Way, said: “The BHA rang me to explain, what can you do?
“It’s the sort of mistake that if I’d made it, I’d get fined, but it won’t make much difference to us.”
Jason Mohammed has so far posted the first century of the 2024 West Indies Championship, as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force closed day one in a good position at 215-4 in their opening contest against reigning champions Guyana Harpy Eagles at Conaree Cricket Centre in St Kitts.
Mohammed, who came to the middle with Red Force in a spot of bother, after Ronsford Beaton removed Cephas Cooper (eight) and Jyd Goolie (three), ended Wednesday’s first day unbeaten on 101.
The 37-year-old will resume his innings, which so far includes 11 fours, on Thursday with Vikash Mohan, who was also unbeaten on 20.
Beaton and Veerasammy Permaul, shared the four wickets, as the latter accounted for Amir Jangoo (27) and Tion Webster (49). Beaton so far has 2-39, while Permaul has 2-49.
Scores: Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 215-4 (81.2 overs); Guyana Harpy Eagles (Yet to bat)
Elsewhere, Windward Islands Volcanoes are on course to secure first innings honours over Jamaica Scorpions, as they closed day one on 157-2, after restricting their hosts to 159, at Sabina Park.
Johann Jeremiah, on 66, and Sunil Ambris, on 30, will resume batting for the Volcanoes on Thursday’s second day.
After asking the Scorpions to take first strike, Hurricanes seamers Ryan John and Shamar Springer produced clinical bowling efforts to rip through the opponents’ batting line up. John bagged 5-43 in 13 overs, while Springer had 3-53 in 10 overs, including two maidens.
Only Peat Salmon, with a 30-ball 26, including three fours and a six, and Romaine Morris’s 29-ball 35, including four fours and two sixes, had notable scores in the Scorpions’ sub-par effort.
The Volcanoes response started positively, with Kimani Melius (31) and Jeremy Solozano (26), both getting starts, but were unable to push on. Melius, who had six boundaries in his 32-ball knock, was removed by Abhijai Mansingh, while Salmon accounted for Solozano, who had five boundaries in his knock.
However, that was all the success the Scorpions would taste, as Jeremiah and Ambris took the bowlers to task and saw out the day.
Scores: Jamaica Scorpions 159 all out (41 overs); Windward Islands Volcanoes 157-2 (41 overs)
Meanwhile, no play was possible in the contest between Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners and Barbados Pride at Chedwin Park, in Jamaica, due to a wet outfield caused by a ruptured water main.
A superb bowling performance by the West Indies Academy has put them in control against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Warner Park in St Kitts on the opening day of the 2024 West Indies Championship.
At stumps, West Indies Academy were 60-2, just 77 runs behind the Hurricanes, who were bundled out for a mere 137 thanks to the brilliant bowling efforts of the Academy’s bowlers.
Jeremiah Louis’ late-innings knock of 45 was the only thing that stood between the Hurricanes and complete humiliation as they were blown away by the bowling of allrounder Joshua James, who took 3-11 and Ashmead Nedd, who two wickets came at a cost of only three runs. Johan Layne weighed in with 2-18.
Nyeem Young was the least efficient of the bowlers conceding 52 runs from his 10 overs during which he took two wickets.
Terance Ward score of 28 and Jahmar Hamilton contribution of 22 were the only other noteworthy efforts in an otherwise woeful batting display from the Hurricanes.
Mbeki Joseph will resume on 30 and Ackeem Auguste 15 when play begins on Thursday.
Milton Harris is to appeal the decision of the British Horseracing Authority’s Licensing Committee to rule he is not a “fit and proper person” to hold a training licence.
The Warminster handler had his licence suspended by the BHA in November pending a hearing in January, with the BHA saying it was “a result of a breach of the conditions on his licence and related matters”.
The Licensing Committee said the concerns of the BHA surrounded “the nature and extent of MH’s admitted breaches of the conditions which already exist on his licence, which were imposed in 2018 and MH’s failure to be candid in his dealings with the BHA in respect of those breaches, particularly when the BHA was seeking to provide opportunities for MH to remedy those breaches”, “misconduct in his dealings with others, including fellow licence holder Mr Simon Earle” and “in respect of safeguarding arising out of MH’s conduct with young persons employed at his racing yard”.
A spokesperson for the BHA said on Wednesday: “The BHA can confirm that Mr Harris has formally notified the BHA of his intention to appeal against the recent decision of the Licensing Committee. We will provide further details regarding the appeal in due course and will make no further comment at this time.”
Contacted by the PA news agency, Harris said: “I have appealed. I need to respect the Licensing Committee’s decision, which I do, but some of the information they have been given was not correct.”
Harris, who started his training career in 2001, had a seven-year enforced absence from 2011 to 2018 due to financial issues.
Since returning to the sport he had saddled some notable winners, highlighted by Knight Salute, who claimed the 2022 Grade One Jewson Anniversary 4-y-o Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree along with three Grade Two victories that season.
Jamie Snowden will give The Queen’s Reach For The Moon a thorough overhaul after the one-time Derby favourite returned lame having finished fourth on his hurdling debut at Sedgefield.
Owned by the late Queen Elizabeth II in his days on the Flat, he won the Group Three Solario Stakes at Sandown for John and Thady Gosden and was twice the runner-up at Royal Ascot.
Having lost his way in that sphere, he was sent to Jamie Snowden and prepared for a hurdling campaign and he reappeared in the colours of the Queen in a partnership with Sir Chips Keswick, the former Arsenal chairman.
Everything seemed to be going well in the first half of the race as Gavin Sheehan tracked the hot favourite Schmilsson (11-10) but a slight mistake three out stopped him in his tracks and he was immediately on the back foot.
As Schmilsson powered clear in the second division of the Betting.Bet New Betting Sites Maiden Hurdle, Reach For The Moon eventually lost two places on the run-in, although a reason quickly appeared for his lacklustre finish.
“He’s lame behind, unfortunately, but nothing obvious has come to light as to why,” said Snowden.
“We’ll reassess him when we get back home and hope it’s nothing serious.”
He went on: “One thing he did enjoy was the jumping, which I was almost certain he would, as he had done in all his schooling at home.
“As an ex-Flat horse maybe that ground was just too taxing for him so one thing we will look for next time out is better ground.
“Without knowing where he went lame… (but) obviously the ground won’t have helped his cause on that front today.
“So, we’ll hope it’s nothing serious, look for better ground and take it from there.”
The Queen, whose husband the King was diagnosed with cancer on Monday, and Keswick had another Snowden-trained runner at Ludlow, but Schematic also finished unplaced.
Velvet Elvis took full advantage of a fall at the third-last fence from odds-on favourite Corbetts Cross to win a drama-filled Fairyhouse Easter Festival 30th March To 1st April Rated Chase for the second year in a row.
The eight-year-old was trained by Thomas Gibney when successful in the staying contest 12 months ago, but was making his first start for Gavin Cromwell as he was sent off at 7-1 in the hands of Keith Donoghue.
Always at the head of the proceedings, Velvet Elvis escaped being caught up in the incident at the third-last fence where Corbetts Cross (1-4) came to ground just as he was beginning to edge his way into the four-runner contest.
Derek O’Connor’s mount collided with Gordon Elliott’s Run Wild Fred in mid-air, with both succumbing on the landing side of the obstacle.
It left Velvet Elvis to battle out the finish Eklat De Rire and Henry de Bromhead’s charge ultimately proved no match, trailing home three and a quarter lengths adrift.
Cromwell said: “We’ll take it! We’ll never know what would have happened, but he jumped well.
“He won this race last year and a small field is probably ideal for him and he loves that ground.
“Hopefully, that will be a confidence booster for him.”
Victory in this race 12 months teed-up a shot at the Grand National for Velvet Elvis, but without an entry for Aintree this year, his new handler suggested they may target a return to Fairyhouse for the Irish equivalent.
Cromwell added: “I suppose we’ll look at the Irish National. He’s also in the National Trial at Haydock, but that will probably come too soon for him as it’s Saturday week. We’ll see how he comes out of this, but he’s very unlikely to go there.
“He’s probably not terribly well handicapped, but at the same time you’d have to consider an Irish National.”
There may have been no joy for owner JP McManus with top novice chasing prospect Corbetts Cross, but he gained compensation when Miss Pronunciation carried the green and gold silks to success in the Book Your Advanced Tickets Now Rated Novice Hurdle.
Padraig Roche’s seven-year-old coasted to a facile six-length triumph under Mark Walsh with the talented mare recording her third-straight victory this season.
Roche said: “That was great, she did it well. She’s starting to settle a lot better than she was and I’d say that’s bringing out the improvement in her.
“She loves that ground. We had the mother, she was a Topanoora mare and she loved that heavy ground. When it’s like that we’ll keep going and see what there is.
“The mother stayed but this one’s not slow, I’d say two miles on that ground is her trip. She’s improving the whole time.”
Nicky Henderson has admitted it is “guesswork” as to whether Shishkin will stay the Cheltenham Gold Cup trip – but that will be where he heads if successfully navigating his Betfair Denman Chase assignment at Newbury on Saturday.
The 10-year-old proved he has the capacity to stay three miles when winning the Aintree Bowl last spring, while he was in the process of running a huge race in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day before unseating Nico de Boinville two from home.
However, the extra quarter-mile the cream of the staying division have to master in the blue riband has caught many a top chaser out down the years. And the Seven Barrows handler concedes it is a question that will only be answered on the day itself, despite feeling confident it will be within Shishkin’s compass.
Henderson said: “It’s going to be guesswork because he’s not been that far. He’s not even in the Ryanair, so I assume we think he must stay something otherwise he won’t be going anywhere.
“I would be pretty confident about that and I know it is difficult to say. I know if you get three miles round Kempton it doesn’t mean anything, but what do you do. There’s a good race at Aintree yes, but if he gets home at Newbury and he does well then you have to go (to the Gold Cup), don’t you.”
The dual Cheltenham Festival winner has spent the majority of his career campaigning over two miles, winning both the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Arkle at that distance in the Cotswolds.
Connections explored stepping up in trip following a lacklustre display in the 2022 Tingle Creek and after roaring back to his very best in the Ascot Chase, he finished second in the Ryanair at the Festival before proving successful at Aintree when downing Ahoy Senor.
It is a move that has somewhat caught Henderson by surprise and he said: “No you didn’t really dream (of Shishkin being a Gold Cup horse), because not surprisingly, after Supremes and Arkles you think he is a two-miler.
“Then we went two and a half and two-mile-five when he won at Ascot which was his first time over a trip and it became very obvious he is a stayer.
“He ran in the Ryanair which wasn’t very good, but he came back and ran in the three-miler at Aintree which was very good and I think he proved he stayed there.
“Since then we have continued down that road and the beginning of this season was always going to be all about the King George.”
He went on: “Where things went a bit wrong was the Ascot fiasco when he didn’t want to jump off, so consequently he had to go into the King George without having his prep race, which always frightened me.
“To be fair it didn’t make a great difference and he ran a great race no matter what the result might have been.
“It was just one of those incidents, it’s not as if he did anything wrong and he jumped beautifully all the way.”
Shishkin has been partnered in all 19 starts under rules by De Boinville who he unceremoniously unshipped with the King George at his mercy on Boxing Day.
A further spill at Doncaster over the Christmas period saw the 34-year-old sidelined with a broken collarbone and after a return to the injury list following a premature comeback, Henderson hopes to have his number one back to full fitness to be aboard Shishkin once again.
He said: “We had a little comeback about 10 days ago and he wasn’t quite ready, but he has been riding out since Saturday – he came in and work on Shishkin then – and has been in every day and schooled a few times.
“He’s in good form, I just want him to have a couple of rides to be ready for Saturday, I hope.”
The Queen’s Reach For The Moon was reported to have finished lame after coming home unplaced on his jumping bow at Sedgefield.
Owned by the Queen in partnership with Sir Chips Keswick, Reach For The Moon was a Group Three winner and one-time Classic hope for Queen Elizabeth II before he lost his way on the Flat.
Switched to the care of Jamie Snowden, Reach For The Moon embarked on a National Hunt career in the second division of the Betting.Bet New Betting Sites Maiden Hurdle, but after racing in second through the early exchanges, he was beaten at the turn for home.
Schmilsson was was sent off the 11-10 favourite and successfully made all the running as Reach For The Moon dropped away, with Snowden eager to check on the gelding straight after the race.
He said: “He showed he’s got the aptitude for jumping but he’s returned lame, so we need to check that he’s OK.”
The Queen, whose husband the King was diagnosed with cancer on Monday, and Keswick had another Snowden-trained runner at Ludlow, but Schematic also finished unplaced for connections.
Nicky Henderson believes Sir Gino’s position as arguably the leading juvenile hurdler seen so far this season is undiminished after absorbing all the action from last weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival.
The master of Seven Barrows was an avid viewer of what he termed “the Willie Mullins racing festival”, with the Closutton trainer hoovering up all eight Grade One prizes on offer over Leopardstown’s two-day fixture, including the Irish Gold Cup with Galopin Des Champs.
While Ballyburn’s victory stroll in Sunday’s two-mile Grade One set alarm balls ringing for Henderson’s Supreme hope Jeriko Du Reponet, he was not so troubled by the result in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle, which saw Kargese lead home a one-two-three-four for Mullins.
Sir Gino is a general 4-5 favourite for the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival after supplementing a British debut win with a 10-length triumph over Burdett Road on Trials day at Prestbury Park and Henderson is confident of his claims, although he is not ruling out a late surprise contender.
He said: “Galopin looked very good on Saturday – they all looked very good over at the weekend at Leopardstown. I enjoyed watching the Willie Mullins racing festival!
“Watching the opposition over the weekend, of all the novices they had that came out, there were some very impressive performances, none more so than (owner) Ronnie Bartlett’s two-miler (Ballyburn). He looked very good and I’m trying to persuade him to go two and a half (miles).
“The juveniles didn’t possibly look as strong as they might do, I was thinking ‘Willie’s going to come out with some rocket’, it doesn’t looks as if he did. The opinion seemed to be nothing happened to cause Sir Gino a great loss of sleep.
“There’s sure to be something crop up somewhere, in the Adonis or in Ireland, but at the moment, his performance did look quite smart at Cheltenham and I think he is a very smart horse, but there’s a long way to go.”
Galopin Des Champs reversed recent form with Fastorslow in defending his Irish Gold Cup title, having found that rival too sharp on the last two of their three meetings.
A Cheltenham Gold Cup defence is now the next port of call for Mullins’ stable star, with Henderson hoping Shishkin can book his Festival ticket with victory in Saturday’s Betfair Denman Chase.
However, even if all should go to plan at Newbury, Henderson is anticipating the sternest of challenges from Galopin Des Champs in the Cotswolds next month.
Of Mullins’ charge, he said: “I think he’s very good, he’s a proven Gold Cup winner so he has to be very good. I think he is a very clinical, professional horse, he just gets out there and gets the job done.
“He doesn’t strike me as a very flashy horse in his race or anything, but he’s always there isn’t he. He’s a tough horse, too.
“I thought he was very, very good and you could find little fault in what he has done. He’s the horse we all have to beat and I’m just thinking and hoping he’s not unbeatable.”
With their Copa America playoff fixture against Canada fast approaching, Trinidad and Tobago’s senior men’s Head coach Angus Eve recently called a 35-man training squad of mostly local-based players which is aimed at ensuring he fields the best possible squad for that crucial encounter next month.
The four-day camp, which ends on Thursday, not only provides the opportunity for players to impress the coach and secure a spot in the team, but also serves as preparation for the playoff contest scheduled for March 24. The winner of the playoff will qualify for the prestigious CONMENOL Copa America in June.
Along with players who were a part of the Soca Warriors unit that had a successful run to the Concacaf Nations League quarter-finals, Eve extended a first-time invitation to German-born Keenon Erfuth, whose mother is Trinidadian, and Denmark-based Marc Gangia, who is eligible to represent the twin island republic through his father.
Gangia, 26, is a forward with Danish fifth-tier team Dalum IF, while 21-year-old Erfuth, also a forward, is currently with German association football club VfR Neumünster.
Having enjoyed good form last year when they also registered an historic 2-1 win over United States, Eve is keen to build on that foundation.
“It’s a great chance for us to get some of the guys together as a group again because as you would have seen, the majority of them would have returned to their clubs and have been very active in the local league since November,” Eve told TTFA Media.
“There are few regulars in this squad, but we also took the opportunity to invite some players, who we believe have been showing up and performing for their clubs in the local premier league,” he added.
Following the Copa America qualifiers, Eve’s next focus will be the 2026 Concacaf World Cup qualifiers, which is scheduled for June. The Soca Warriors will contest Group B alongside Costa Rica, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Bahamas.
“There is a lot of international football coming up with the Copa America qualifier being the most urgent assignment, but of course, there are the World Cup qualifiers following soon after in June. These sort of windows where we can have some time with the players available are extremely important for us,” Eve noted.
Trinidad and Tobago Training Squad: Kaihim Thomas, Reon Moore, Jamali Garcia, Christopher Biggette, Jabari St Hillaire, Kevon Goddard, Justin Garcia, Brent Sam, Nathaniel Garcia, Justin Sadoo (all Defence Force), Duane Muckette, Michel Poon-Angeron, Liam Burns, John-Paul Rochford, Isaiah Leacock (all AC Port of Spain), Real Gill, Shervohnez Hamilton, Kai Moos, Jamal Jack (all Club Sando), Luke Phillips, Denzil Smith, Justin Cornwall, Mark Ramdeen (all Point Fortin Civic), Alvin Jones, Robert Primus, Adrian Foncette (all Police FC), David Daniel, Ross Russell Jr, Isaiah Lee (all La Horquetta Rangers), Mickaeel Jem Gordon (1976 FC Phoenix), Rhondel Gibson (Eagles FC), Keenon Erfuth (VFR Neumunster—Germany), Marc Gangia (Dalum IF—Denmark), Jonathan Assue (unattached).
Reach For The Moon was reported to have finished lame after coming home unplaced on his jumping bow at Sedgefield.
Owned by the Queen in partnership with Sir Chips Keswick, Reach For The Moon was a Group Three winner and one-time Classic hope for Queen Elizabeth II before he lost his way on the Flat.
Switched to the care of Jamie Snowden, Reach For The Moon embarked on a National Hunt career in the second division of the Betting.Bet New Betting Sites Maiden Hurdle, but after racing in second through the early exchanges, he was beaten at the turn for home.
Schmilsson was was sent off the 11-10 favourite and successfully made all the running as Reach For The Moon dropped away, with Snowden eager to check on the gelding’s health straight after the race.
He said: “He showed he’s got the aptitude for jumping but he’s returned lame, so we need to check that he’s OK.”
An intriguing field of four will go to post for the M1 Agency Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle at Huntingdon on Thursday.
Some good horses have won this Listed affair over the years – including the Nicky Henderson-trained Shishkin in 2020.
Representing Seven Barrows this year, and heading the market, is Jango Baie, winner the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day.
That win in what was the Tolworth Hurdle took his record to two from two over timber, and he will once again be partnered by James Bowen.
“We’re going two-mile-three with him this time and it’s a slight step up (in trip), he was around Aintree over two last time,” said Henderson.
“I thought he was finishing that race very strongly, so I wanted to have a look at him around two and a half just to see. He’s in both the Supreme and the Baring Bingham (at the Cheltenham Festival) come March.
“The owner has both Jango Baie and Jingko Blue – and I’ll put the wrong horse in a race someday soon – and the other horse won very nicely at Sandown on Saturday.”
Two others in the field are unbeaten so far in their hurdling careers – Bugise Seagull for Charlie Longsdon and the Ben Pauling-trained Handstands.
Like Jango Baie, both are two from two and the latter was most recently seen scoring in a novice event at Newcastle.
“He’s a lovely horse who does everything you ask of him at home but no more,” said Pauling.
“I hope his jumping is sharp enough, but he’s certainly a horse that we’ve got no idea where the bottom is and we like him a lot really.
“He’ll be a fabulous chaser next year, but I think he can be a good hurdler this year as well.
“This is a lovely race, it’s cut up in numbers but the quality is there I suppose and it’ll be interesting to see where we fit amongst these and give us a steer towards where we go in the spring.”
The other contender is the Joe Tizzard-trained Diamond Ri, who confirmed the promise of his debut second when winning at Warwick last month.
Lionel Messi returned to action for Inter Miami as he played the final 30 minutes of a pre-season friendly against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo.
Messi, who has been suffering with a hamstring injury, was an unused substitute as Inter Miami beat a Hong Kong XI 4-1 on Sunday, with local fans voicing their frustrations having turned up in numbers in expectation of seeing the eight-time Ballon D’Or winner in action.
David Beckham’s Major League Soccer side continued their pre-season build up in Japan and Argentina superstar Messi was able to resume training ahead of their latest friendly.
There was another injury worry for Miami, though, as midfielder Sergio Busquets was forced off with an ankle issue midway through the first half after being caught by a late tackle from Yuya Osako.
Just before half-time, Vissel forward Osako fired over from 10 yards in front of goal after Miami had lost possession when trying to playing out from the back.
The J1 League side went close again early in the second half when Brazil forward Jean Patric headed wide.
Messi came on for the final 30 minutes, replacing David Ruiz, and his introduction was met with loud cheers from fans all around the National Stadium.
Ryuho Kikuchi headed wide from a free-kick into the Miami penalty area, with Messi then forcing a late save from the Vissel goalkeeper and seeing his follow-up effort cleared off the line.
After the match finished goalless, the result was decided on a penalty shoot-out.
Vissel won 4-3 after Miami failed to convert any of their last three spot-kicks, with Messi not taking one.
Miami will now head back to the United States for a final warm-up match against Messi’s boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys in Fort Lauderdale.
The first match of the new MLS season is against Real Salt Lake on February 21.
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