Equinties - newurthinkin'

Gm Equinauts

Well, the biggest certainty in the history of Grand National certainties, INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN now will NOT go, as we thought might be the case after his Gold Cup demolition job, leaving the race wide open.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

NEWURTHINKIN’

This whole article was whether or not INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN should run in the National.

Themed around the fantasy of running one of the best handicapped horses in the history of the Grand National, we knew it was never going to happen but Gavin Cromwell has beat us to the post and made certain all know the Grand National target is now firmly off the agenda. He’s simply too important to risk.

To Gavin, INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN is too important to risk. To JP, he’ll be stark and painful reminder of his beloved SYNCHRONISED.

The last horse to win the Gold Cup and run in the National, SYNCHRONISED sadly suffered a fatal injury and there is no doubt that will be playing on JP’s mind.

It’s the right thing to do. JP has more bullets to fire in the National anyway. The great man has had the National in mind for IROKO all season, and his campaign has centred around the Aintree showpiece so much that Jonjo O’Neill Jnr was called into the stewards after his “eye-catching” fourth at Cheltenham on Trials Day.

On IROKO, Guerriero said: “It’s crazy how it has panned out [the Mildmay form]. JP said as soon as he walked back in the winner’s enclosure at Aintree that he’s my National horse for next year so from then on we have had our target on the race.

“He missed most of his novice season over fences but he’s consequently quite unexposed. We’re very hopeful the extended trip will suit him. All his best work is at the end of his races and we wouldn’t have any doubt he will enjoy the step up in distance.” 

That Mildmay Novices’ Chase form is really strong with INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN, HEART WOOD, and CHIANTI CLASSICO. There’s a good chance that this form line will have a big say on the Nash.

PUNCHESTOWN RAIDS

Speaking of future targets, the next few weeks are going to be interesting.

Usually, British-trained Cheltenham runners would just have enough time to head to Aintree. Four or so weeks between Prestbury Park and Liverpool is fine for horses in the peak of the spring festivals, but that won’t be the case this year.

The break between Cheltenham and Aintree in 2025 is three weeks, which is short, and we have already seen news from some British trainers that they are going to target Punchestown over Merseyside. 

We already know CONSTITUTION HILL is targeting Punchestown, and there was a bit of chat yesterday from Henderson about JANGO BAIE, as he said: "He’s only had three runs this season and I’d like to run him again. The big question is where, because Aintree comes very quickly. It’s either there or Punchestown." 

So, this does prompt the question of who else from this side of the Irish Sea will be heading to Punchestown? There could be a whole host more British-trained runners heading to Punchestown purely because the turnaround is too quick for Aintree. It would be fun to see the boss of Seven Barrows also send JONBON on the boat to take on MARINE NATIONALE, but it looks like Aintree is for him - which will suit him!

Elsewhere, MAUGHREEN (STILL SICK) is going to Fairyhouse for the Grade 1 Honeysuckle Mares’ Novice Hurdle and BUDDY ONE is going to the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle, so we will get to see some nice horses at least once more this season.

POSITIVE GINO

SIR GINO is back in Seven Barrows. That’s right, Nicky Henderson confirmed yesterday that the star novice chaser is back home after five weeks in the veterinary hospital.

This is the kind of news we needed to hear. It all looked a bit doom and gloom when he first went into the vet hospital. We actually saw him there when stabled next to one of ours but the vets did not leave his side and we thought that was bearish, but the updates continued to get better and now he is back home! Amazing.

Now, he’s not completely out of the woods, and this news absolutely does not mean we should be backing him at 4/1 for the Champion Chase, but at least he’s back home and invariably on the mend. On the situation, Henderson said: "He came home this morning after five weeks away. He does seem well, but nobody would feel amazing if they'd been bed-ridden for five weeks.

“He's been at Donnington since way before Cheltenham and it's been pretty nasty, but Henry O'Neill and his team have done amazingly. He's been working with a lot of consultants and people around the world. They think they're on top of it, which is the main thing, but we have to stay on top of it.

"He's got a long recuperation and rehabilitation to come before we get an idea if he's going to be a racehorse again, but everyone is hopeful. He's got all of the summer to come, when he'll hopefully get out in the field, and everyone has done a brilliant job.

"It's a bit sad, though. The one thing he won't do is win an Arkle because he won't be a novice anymore, but all that matters is that he comes through it. If we can get him back on to a racecourse it'll be fantastic."

God, we hope he is back for the Queen Mum next year. It would be awesome to see him kick Irish ass.

RISK ON

Tools down yesterday, we pick them up today for a hyper-speccy play:

14.15 STAR ARTIST

We’ll look either stupid or genius after this race. STAR ARTIST has about two stone to find with the face DEVON DUDE. DEVON DUDE has run his best on heavy ground, today it’s lightening quick. He has a slow ground pedigree and might not be able to move his legs quick enough today. STAR ARTIST on the other hand has been crying out for faster ground. Purely a value play (2/9 is much too short for the fave) we think 9/2 is a great value bet and trust the ground can bring the ratings difference of the two closer. 9/2 win bet.

BUMPER

No time for a big write up today, we were watching some horses.

We think Dan Skelton’s flat bred horse THE MAD POET can win the weak Wetherby heat at 11/8.

If he does win, we’ll send £200 to a weekender subscriber! Subscribe below:

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Already a paying subscriber? Sign In.

A subscription gets you:

• • The weekender edition (Mon-Fri still free)
• • Every big race preview and best bets
• • That warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing the intern gets fed
• • Less than £1 a week!