This season’s build up to the Cheltenham Festival will be the same as
always. It will feel long and drawn out until that Tuesday in March arrives
when there will be a sense of disbelief, with so many wondering where the time
has gone. During the long drawn out periods there is plenty of time to reassess
and alter your thoughts on a race like the Supreme, especially this year with
the lack of a standout and the now ever present danger of backing a horse
destined for the Neptune. My first thoughts for the 2014 renewal were that Moyle Park was the horse to be with
given his bumper exploits and the probability of his trainer, Willie Mullins,
keeping him to two miles. On Sunday, Moyle Park did little on his hurdling
debut to put me off him, for all was it far from a faultless effort.
The Flemensfirth gelding began his career in the care of Rathvin
trainer Harry Kelly, for whom he sauntered away with a well contested Leopardstown
bumper, Blackmail, who went on to boost the form, was back in second. Next seen in January at the Cheltenham sales, he was purchased by the 2013
Supreme winning connections for £250,000. His target was soon confirmed to be
the Land Rover Bumper at the Punchestown Festival and the result tells you it
was mission accomplished. However, it was far from straightforward as he took a
ferocious hold in the hands of Patrick Mullins, forcing him to hit the front
earlier than ideal. He also had to give over a stone to the
second and third. It may have seemed inevitable therefore that he would been
passed in the final furlong but he found more, showing his class to see off
Wrath Of Titans and Classic Move. Both have won a bumper since and each delivered
significant promise for the future on their hurdling debuts last week, with
Wrath Of Titans filling third spot behind Moyle Park at Navan.
Clearly work has been done to help him settle as, while he was still
keen, he was less trouble for his rider on Sunday, this time Ruby Walsh. There
was no attempt to find cover, as Patrick Mullins had been at pains to do at
Punchestown, and connections are convinced he will become more tractable with racing.
For the time being the increased likelihood of a stronger pace will see him stick
to trips around two miles and the quicker he learns to settle the more
effective Moyle Park will be in top races. Having looked potentially top class
last season, the manner in which he breezed clear of two more than fair rivals
here suggests he is well on his way to that status even if there is a concern
about his jumping. For much of the race he lacked fluency, guessing at the
first two and getting in too close at three more, but as the contest developed
in the straight his jumping improved, with accurate leaps at three and two out carrying
him to the front. A fast pace should prove integral to Moyle Park settling in
future and on the basis of this first run over hurdles it could prove integral
to his jumping. If he can he can avoid taking such a strong grip in his races,
his stride will not be stifled and he will be able to take a cut at his hurdles,
akin to the last three on Sunday. This five-year-old is a real prospect and,
with experience, could prove a threat to all in the Supreme once his jumping
improves and he learns to settle.
Similar comments should apply to a horse who again advertised his
Supreme credentials with a convincing defeat of a well-touted JP McManus owned
novice hurdler. Garde La Victoire took
the notable scalp of Champion Bumper runner-up Regal Encore at Aintree on his first try over hurdles,
but with excuses for Anthony
Honeyball’s charge he may not have received the credit he deserved. At Warwick
on Wednesday he came up against the Alan King trained, Gone Too Far. Another
with stronger bumper form than Garde La Victoire, he had made a promising start
to his hurdling career at Wetherby with a relatively facile success and was
made an odds on favourite to beat the Philip Hobbs contender.
It may have been a sign of intent from his trainer that he ran him in
the same race Menorah won on his way to Supreme success. They could have found
a simpler assignment for this four-year-old but they clearly have faith in him
and that faith was justified with this commanding eleven length victory. Garde
La Victoire is a huge, solid unit, built for chasing and he is yet to pay enough
respect to his hurdles. He appears somewhat clumsy, though he is such a
powerful sort that when he makes mistakes it rarely halts his momentum and his
spectacular leap at the third hints at the scope he has. He was keen from the
outset once more at Warwick but there is no necessity for him to find cover
with Richard Johnson content with a handy position despite looking from the
outside like he could get run away with. The Kapgarde gelding shapes as if
there is significant improvement to come in all facets of his performance and
his aggressive, arguably relentless, style is pleasing to watch.
Despite the prior promise from Gone Too Far I would be reluctant to use
the margin back to him as a reason to laud Garde La Victoire. He did not
appear comfortable from an early stage and while he saw the race out well
enough to finish second I doubt that this was a true reflection of his ability even
accounting for the form of his Wetherby win taking a knock with the tame
performance of Varom at Haydock. I suspect Garde La Victoire will relish the
prospect of fences and we should see what he is really capable of in a year’s
time. He is not one to underestimate over hurdles however, as he has been so
far, and I hope he gets the chance to test how serious his Supreme Novice
aspirations are in a race like the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown where he
would likely face the Paul Nicholls trained, Irving.
Irving was a smart purchase
off the level from Germany. Fourth place in a Listed contest was arguably his
best effort and he was seen as an ideal type for hurdles. Nicholls started
Irving off at Taunton, a racecourse he often uses to unleash some of his
recruits from the continent. A very steady gallop was set by the leader and
Irving was pulling throughout the contest but bar one early mistake and a rap
of the last his jumping was nicely measured. Despite travelling freely his
burst of speed to see off the Nicky Henderson trained Cup Final, another well
regarded novice for JP McManus, was deadly. Nick Schofield was still taking a
grip over the last but once asked to lengthen his rivals were left standing. Taunton
is usually a test of speed and for this ex-flat performer it was a test that
was supposed to suit. On the other hand plenty went wrong and an impression was
left that the better the race the better he would be.
It was assumed he would face a much sterner test at Ascot on Friday
where he came up against one more Nicky Henderson inmate, Tradewinds. He had
looked a talented individual when routing a decent field in a Kempton bumper in
February before narrowly losing out at Ayr but failed to show any sparkle at
Ascot thereby leaving the race to Irving from an early stage. Again he came up
against a painfully sedate pace, which in fairness did not suit Tradewinds, and
Irving was a little free but settled better than he had done at Taunton. He had
evidently improved from his initial experience, jumping especially well this
time and he quickened clear from his ‘rivals’ in the sprint up the straight. It
is still difficult to know what to make of this son of Singspiel, he has only
contested two weak races over hurdles and both were almost farcical slowly run
affairs. The Tolworth will prove very informative and it may test his jumping
out of bad ground. At this stage Irving strikes me as a hurdler all about speed
who may appreciate flatter tracks, I can imagine Paul Nicholls is already
thinking about Aintree at the end of the season. Despite possessing an
intimidating turn-of-foot, he may lack the requisite stamina for Cheltenham.
Regal Encore, who
after his defeat to the aforementioned Garde
La Victoire, was found an embarrassingly easy assignment at Plumpton where,
encouragingly, his hurdling was far slicker. We will learn more about him over
hurdles when he takes on stronger opposition but with the widely held belief
that he is being primed for a tilt at February’s Betfair Hurdle at Newbury, à la My Tent Or Yours, it is unlikely to happen before then.
Dubai Prince is another who was
found an inviting opening but this time at Leicester. He is probably the classiest
recruit from the flat that the Bloomfields operation have had to deal with having
only started 8/1 for the 2011 Champion Stakes and he was last seen winning a
Group 3 at York. The primary concern with these talented flat performers is
whether they will take to hurdling. Fortunately for connections, Dubai Prince impressed
with an assured display and any questions over having the necessary stamina
were quashed as he cruised to a six lengths win. The form amounts to very
little but his trainer, John Ferguson, knows what he is doing with this sort of
animal and hopefully he will progress. I am not a fan of classy flat horses like
him in the Supreme and I will look to oppose him as he steps up in class. Nevertheless,
he was particularly good on the level and, even though I should not admit it, I
did take that 8/1 for the Champion Stakes and I am prepared to be surprised.
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