Supreme Novices Update: River Maigue (Ascot)

Cheltenian has a number of entries this week and his return to action after a huge absence is imminent. If he can come through whichever test he takes in the coming days he could have a tilt at the Supreme and his current odds of 40/1 may appear generous. He was an extremely impressive winner of a memorable, at least it was for me, Champion Bumper but sadly injury has intervened since. It must be beyond frustrating for connections, with their patience surely tested, hopefully they can be rewarded with a return to form and a full season with him from next autumn.

Another memorable bumper personally, came this weekend last year on the Betfair Ascot Chase card. That day Royal Guardsman flew home, winning emphatically under Brendan Powell Jnr, his position as leading British hope in Cheltenham’s Champion Bumper cemented. It has been downhill for him since then however and, having switched from Colin Tizzard to his owner’s yard, this season has been largely disappointing with three relatively tame efforts over hurdles. Finishing third in Royal Guardsman’s Ascot bumper was the former point-to-point winner River Maigue who just failed to see the race out having been keen and possibly lacking experience. Unlike Royal Guardsman his career has been on the up since that race, this season shaping into a serious contender for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

Following his debut over hurdles in November, when he needed the run and the experience, River Miague went to Kempton on Boxing Day where he sauntered to victory, thrashing Champion Bumper runner up and fellow Supreme contender New Year’s Eve. There have been doubts over the form but the ease in which he won and the bullish reports from connections subsequently sent him near to the head of the Supreme Novices' ante-post market. He was recently tipped by Pricewise of the Racing Post, thereby solidifying his market position, and then on Saturday he was set the difficult task of giving exciting juvenile hurdler Far West 9lb, thanks to the weight-for-age allowance.

The race itself quickly turned into a farce as the leader, Boss In Boots, all but ran out leaving Far West in front and a dawdle of a gallop, to put it mildly. Jumping from both major protagonists was sound, Far West was particularly athletic when he needed to be four out and two out, but it wasn’t fluid with neither relishing the hurdles off such a slow pace. The race culminated in a three furlong sprint which Far West managed to win having been ideally placed in front by Ruby Walsh. Far West has been no stranger to making the running since coming over from France but he has been doing it in very testing conditions, whereas the ground had dried up somewhat on Saturday leaving the ground quicker he had ever faced, albeit still officially soft. Paul Nicholls’ charge had looked a strong stayer, often what you need in a Triumph Hurdle, but there were concerns expressed by many including myself over whether others at Cheltenham would have too much speed for him. Here, however, he seemingly dispelled those suggestions, quickening away nicely from a well regarded rival off a leisurely gallop. There are still slight doubts over his ability to handle much quicker ground, which he could face at the Festival, but he does appear to possess a significant blend of speed and stamina, along with a sound hurdling technique, and is not one to dismiss lightly for the juvenile hurdlers’ showpiece at the Festival.

Having praised Far West for producing a surprising level of speed there is the possibility he was flattered in that department. I have suggested after each of his runs over hurdles that River Maigue is likely to improve again once he tackles longer trips, especially given his pointing background where he won over three miles as a four-year-old. As a result, Far West’s ability to beat River Maigue for speed may not be the achievement it appeared on first viewing. Ruby Walsh failed to force Far West comfortably clear on the run-in, with the gap between first and second largely remaining the same. This might just have been a case of two future stayers sprinting.

Such was the ridiculous nature of the race on Saturday that it is almost impossible to learn anything about River Maigue’s chances in the Supreme. It could indicate that he is not a potential star, particularly over two miles, like a number of others heading for the Supreme, but that is still rather harsh as the race was so far removed from what he will face at Cheltenham it is hardly worth thinking about. Everything River Maigue has shown gives me the idea that he will be seen to best effect off a strong pace on ground quicker than soft. He is yet to face these conditions, hence it would be remiss to judge him too harshly on what he has done so far, despite failing to give out the wow factor of his stablemate My Tent Or Yours. Unlike so many of his rivals, who will have had an overly long break before Cheltenham, River Maigue will have had a recent run which is often a positive when it comes to the Festival. There is the possibility of leaving a horse’s race behind with a prep race too close to the Festival, but this quasi sprint was far from a gruelling test.

He is held in high esteem by Barry Geraghty and Nicky Henderson, while I have had a soft spot for him since his debut in this country behind Royal Guardsman in the aforementioned bumper, yet despite desperately trying to avoid dismissing River Maigue as a serious player and demean his achievements, this upcoming Supreme looks likely to fall to a horse that is exceptional over two miles. River Maigue is unlikely to prove that in my eyes and I expect he will struggle to finish in the places next month despite being a prospect I still want to follow closely. I am confident River Maigue has a bright future, primarily over fences, he is just a shade unfortunate to be among a particularly strong crop of novice hurdlers as in a normal year he would be a major threat to all.

Triumph Hurdle Update: Rolling Star

Supreme Novice clues were thin on the ground last week with multiple abandonments and the lack of a trial on Cheltenham Trials Day. Alan King did mention the race as the spring target for his stylish jumpers’ bumper winner Fair Trade. He cruised through the race at Kempton and saw off the potentially high class hurdler Pearl Swan with considerable ease. Raymond Tooth’s six-year-old was more than useful on the flat having been placed in a Group 3, he was even seen as good enough to compete in the 2000 Guineas won by, the still underrated, Makfi. Despite this, designs on the Supreme appear far-fetched to me, Alan King contests that he will improve markedly for better ground, but so will a host of others going for the race who have shown significantly superior hurdling form so far. Fair Trade is not the most straightforward of horses either which would be a concern for Cheltenham. One more run is planned for him before the Festival and unless he blossoms into a different horse on the back of his all-weather confidence booster I cannot envisage him being anything other than a long shot in March, and a long shot he will deserve to be.
   
Fortunately, there were a host of Festival markers laid down over the weekend with the standout performance probably produced by Pont Alexandre at Leopardstown (Sunday). Yet it is back at the home of jump racing where I want to concentrate. In the first race at Cheltenham on Saturday I fully expected a genuine, strong Triumph Hurdle contender to emerge and emerge he did, but it was not the contender I or many others expected.

Irish Saint arrived in the care of Paul Nicholls on the back of an impressive victory in a Listed Hurdle in France. That was his only run before moving to England and Nicholls saw him almost immediately as a chasing prospect. His bullishness before Irish Saint’s debut in this country at Kempton contributed to his charge’s odds-on SP but the confidence was well placed as he ran out an exceptionally impressive winner. He jumped and travelled smoothly before quickening away like a classy hurdler should, leaving the decent yardstick, McVicar toiling in his wake. I was really taken with this display and when it came to Saturday I felt he would extend his winning streak, setting himself up for a tilt at the Triumph in the process.

I was not alone in that view either as he was backed in to odds-on favouritism once more. Sadly for his supporters Irish Saint met with defeat for the first time. There were no excuses, he was already proven on the ground, Irish Saint had just come up against a better horse and, in my view, the genuine Triumph Hurdle contender we had expected to see. Rolling Star was only a maiden on the flat after seven starts but he did manage to win his first start over hurdles in France and with Nicky Henderson he was evidently improving all the time as positive reports about his work surfaced in the run up to Saturday’s race. There was also sustained support for the Triumph, he was around 12/1 shortly before the race. A bold showing was anticipated but Irish Saint looked a particularly tough nut to crack on the back of his Kempton demolition job. Intriguingly, however, Timeform rated Rolling Star’s French form one pound superior to Irish Saint’s, this was an indication of what was to follow.

Irish Saint set off in front under Ruby Walsh, keen to dictate a reasonable pace believing he was on the best horse, with Rolling Star and Barry Geraghty sitting in third eager to track the favourite. They both travelled easily through the race and as Feb Thirtyfirst cracked Rolling Star took up second from the third last, with the rest struggling the race boiled down to a match between two bright juveniles. Despite both jockeys looking comfortable all the way to the last, there was just an air of confidence exuding from Barry Geraghty and concern from Ruby Walsh as they approached the final obstacle. Irish Saint is a brilliant jumper of hurdles and he cleared the last exuberantly, in contrast Rolling Star, who, not the natural his opponent is, was slow costing himself valuable momentum. Geraghty was not perturbed, gradually winding is mount back up to move alongside the flailing Ruby Walsh, only then did he ask for maximum effort. Rolling Star responded willingly, pulling away from Irish Saint in a manner suggesting there was more to give. ‘Winning cosily’ is an overused term when it comes to finishes but here it seemed appropriate for Rolling Star and Barry Geraghty. The most encouraging aspect for me, in terms of his Festival aspirations, is that without the clumsy fumble of the last I expect Nicky Henderson’s four-year-old would have breezed past Irish Saint. For that reason he may still be underestimated by many, if no longer the bookmakers who have him around 5/1 which neither generous nor mean, as he beat this exciting juvenile with solid form, a tall reputation, and a physique to match even more easily than the comfortable two-and-a-quarter lengths suggests. Adding ballast to the form is Roc D’Apsis, back in third, who finished an almost identical distance behind current joint favourite with Rolling Star, Far West, on his previous run also at Cheltenham. Unlike Far West I anticipate Rolling Star will take to better ground just as easily as the heavy he encountered on Saturday. Were conditions to remain similar in March there would be fierce competition between the pair but as a son of Poliglote, Far West thrives on the heavy going. He has not raced on quicker ground yet, therefore, it may harsh to draw such a conclusion but if the ground does dry up for the Triumph I suspect he will struggle more than most.

The only factor that has stopped me backing him thus far is the nature of the Triumph Hurdle build up. So often we see major protagonists not appearing before February, with the Adonis usually being the most interesting trial in that regard. It is arguably foolhardy to back something for the Triumph before the Adonis with the likes of Zarkandar and Soldatino (two of the last three Triumph winners) popping up there on their British debuts. However, despite Nicky Henderson suggesting he had a couple more juveniles to unleash, he did admit that Rolling Star was probably the best. He has not yet decided whether to run Rolling Star again before Cheltenham but whatever happens we should see progression from his first start in this country for his new trainer to the next. It is tough to be negative about Rolling Star’s chances in the Triumph, at least for me, but it is one of the races at the Festival with many unknowns and horses can suddenly improve dramatically, like Countrywide Flame. If we do get the usual Cheltenham ground in March then there will be some horses who have been unable to show their true colours through this ‘monsoon’ season and from an antepost perspective the best juvenile could still be lurking somewhere with a name most have not even heard of yet.

The Irish have generally struggled to win the Triumph Hurdle but this year they may have their best chance for a while in Diakali for Willie Mullins. He has treated his rivals on both starts so far with utter contempt, turning both races into processions. We should learn more about him as he steps up in grade and hopefully takes on the other top Irish Juveniles, including the likes of Our Conor. Given another dominant display from him I may have to dampen my enthusiasm for Rolling Star. Whether or not Diakali does give Far West and Rolling Star fans something to think about, this year’s renewal of the Triumph Hurdle is heading towards yet another Nicky Henderson versus Willie Mullins versus Paul Nicholls contest at the 2013 Cheltenham Festival.