Having tipped Simonsig on the blog earlier in the season it was interesting to see Nicky Henderson run a French import in a Grade 1 two mile novices hurdle on his first start for the yard. Captain Conan won by a small margin but, nevertheless, stamped his claim on a place at festival for the Seven Barrows team. Intriguingly the trainer and jockey seemed keen to save him for fences much like they were with Sprinter Sacre. From the television pictures Captain Conan looked huge when chasing down the smaller Colour Squadron and anyone who has seen him in the flesh has reported that he is an imposing type built for chasing, so you can understand where Henderson and Geraghty are coming from. What must also come into the reckoning is the number of prospective runners in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle the trainer already has. Some will have to miss out and if a horse looks more a chaser than a hurdler then there is logic in saving the likes of Captain Conan for next season. However, I imagine they will have some difficulty in trying to convince the owners.
The form of the Tolworth for me looks dubious and as much as the first two are likely to keep improving it is difficult to argue any horse, bar the winner, has run its race. Captain Conan jumped and travelled like the good horse Henderson thought he was but he was all out to just beat the wayward Colour Squadron. Had Colour Squadron kept on a straight line and Richard Johnson been able to ride a proper finish on the horse then you could rate Captain Conan’s performance quite highly. In that situation then both would be fully justified in being at the head of the market for the Supreme. Unfortunately, Colour Squadron looked to have the race won entering the straight but he hung left the whole way up the run in with only the rail to keep him on a reasonable course. Then as the rail ended Colour Squadron dived to the left leaving Richard Johnson with an impossible task, thereby throwing away the race and gifting it to Geraghty’s mount.
There had been an indication that the Hobbs hurdler might not be the most straightforward with the way he jumped slightly left on his previous start at Newbury and the way he finished his first start over hurdles at the same track. Something of this magnitude was not expected, however, and it must be unlikely that he will run on a right handed track anytime soon. In terms of his Cheltenham prospects, there must be some promise in this performance as he came very close to winning a Grade 1despite hanging violently and at Cheltenham he will be going left handed. Although, at Cheltenham there is very little rail to help on the home straight which would again give him the possibility to throw the race away, plus, I fear he will not come across the soft ground which ideally suits him.
Colour Squadron started the race as joint favourite along with Prospect Wells. Prospect Wells was a late entry after the race was re-opened so this was somewhat of an afterthought. This could not excuse the awful performance though and it was another reason to be wary of the form, particularly when looking forward to Cheltenham. Having run well on his previous four starts over hurdles, albeit with his last one being the least promising, he was expected to go well here by many including his trainer. The Sadler’s Wells gelding did not look happy through the race and was off the bridle far earlier than would be expected. Coming into the straight he was not too far off the leading pair but Ruby Walsh was hard at work and he faded tamely, finishing last of the four finishers. There are certainly excuses for this run and he may well start a bigger price in the Supreme than he deserves to and he will go straight there according to connections. Nevertheless, this was a bitterly disappointing effort and it would take some forgiving to back him for the festival opener.
Finishing third, seven lengths ahead of Prospect Wells, was the Charlie Longsdon trained Magnifique Etoile. He had won two very minor events over hurdles prior to this and is well regarded by connections. The trainer’s concern in the build up to the race was the soft ground and it proved his undoing, although he is probably not up to this class yet anyway. He travelled fine until just after three out where he could not quicken like the front pair out of the ground and much like Colour Squadron and Prospect Wells, he is almost certainly better than he showed here. While it may not be form to follow too closely with regards to the Supreme, the race may have a bearing on a festival handicap as his festival target will be the County Hurdle according to his trainer, and he will not be without a chance.
The 40/1 outsider of the five runners was High Storm who was pulled up before two out having run no sort of race. His previous run was very encouraging as he ran the exciting Darlan˟ extremely close at Cheltenham in December. He clearly ran nowhere near this form at Sandown and might be one to give another chance down in class, possibly, up in trip.
˟ Darlan only finished a nose in front of High Storm but I am in no doubt that the distance flattered the Rebecca Curtis horse. Darlan cruised through the race at Cheltenham and looked as if he was likely to win the race on bridle before stumbling on landing at the last thereby losing momentum. This made it a race, but he always looked like getting there even though in the end it was by the smallest of margins. His previous run over hurdles and his bumper win had both been very easy and today at Taunton was more of the same. At Cheltenham, though, he showed he had battling qualities which will be important if he is to have festival ambitions. I do not believe he ran up to form at Cheltenham, hence, for me Darlan still falls into the ‘could be anything’ category. He has now won three races on the bridle and, if his trainer can sharpen up his jumping, he may be yet another contender for the Supreme coming from Nicky Henderson’s yard.
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