Equinties - Olympic trials

Gm, Equinauts

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Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUND UP

OLYMPIC TRIALS

Cheltenham hosts their Cheltenham Trials day this weekend and that’s exactly what it is for most of these horses - a test to see if they’re good enough for jumps racing’s blue riband event in March. SIR GINO is the headline act and Hendo has been in two minds as to whether he needed to turn up at all.

We all know how good SIR GINO is but lets not forget, the Christmas Hurdle he won with ease was his first run for a year and we imagine the ‘bounce’ factor might have been playing in Hendo’s mind causing sleepless nights. Horse’s can ‘bounce’ (run poorly) when they’ve put in a big run after a long time lay off. It’s an equine phenomenon which science can’t really explain, but every one knows is actually a thing.

We imagine Hendo is thinking that if SIR GINO is going to ‘bounce’, then best get the run into him early so that he can then be brought back nicely for March. Now look, the chances are he won’t and he’ll go and dominate and then be smashed into odds on for March, but the risk is still there and so Hendo, smartly, is leaving no stone unturned. It’s a very sensible thing to do. Plus, sometimes, there is just no better training than racing!

He will face JP’s THE NEW LION who himself is on a come back mission after his fall in that Fighting Fifth (it was like a replay of last years Champion Hurdle.

Hendo has a very strong team for the weekend which also see’s IMPOSE TOI back out. He’s third favourite for the Stayers currently and his step up in trip has made him a different horse but it’s Hendo’s new horse, ACT OF INNOCENCE, who jumps racing fans might want to see most, from a punting perspective anyway, as there have been some VERY bullish comments floated recently from owner Gordon Hall:

He’s basically saying ACT OF INNOCENCE is as good as OLD PARK STAR. If that’s true, that puts Hendo is a bloody strong position for March and will most certainly shake the Festival up for it’s been such a bad experience the last few years with Mullins’ dominance in nearly every open race. If you’re one to believe the hype (and why not, the owner was there to see the work with his own eyes) then he is a short 7/4 for Saturdays final race on the card.

Would you back him for Cheltenham now?

Well, obviously the Dublin Racing Festival hasn’t happened yet so God only knows what the Irish are keeping in their lockers, but right now, it seems like British racing is BACK making the Festival the first proper betting prospect for years.

GORDON’S GANG

Gordon Elliott gave the press a horse by horse run down of his key players for the spring.

Ex-Maxwell horse EL CAIROS was high on the list of horses the public wanted to hear about and Gordon mentioned a maiden for him next as an option to get some confidence back into him after his last time out fall, stating that a Grade 1 might not be the sensible option. The plan is to go straight to the Supreme after run round, should the race go according to plan. He looked very good before his tumble so all eyes on him!

Gordon was also quick to mention the improvement he’s seen in his mare BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD and although admits she might not be good enough to beat LOSSIEMOUTH, she deserves her place in the Irish Champion Hurdle. Now might be the time to catch her though, as looking at her historical form, she thrives in the cold winter months.

Gordon’s ‘horse of a lifetime’ TEAHUPOO will go straight to the Stayers in March and his pick of his current crop of juveniles, MANGE TOUT, will next be seen in a juvenile Grade 1 at Leopardstown at the end of the month.

Lastly, Gordon seemed to give a nod to his new recruit CHARISMATIC KID who was bought by Gigginstown after his debut bumper romp for trainer Colm Ryan. Gordon says he works very well and that he ‘likes him’. He’ll go for the DRF’s Grade 2 bumper before presumably heading straight to the Champion Bumper after that. Gordon hasn’t won the Champion Bumper since 2019 when the mighty and unbeaten (at the time) ENVOI ALLEN kickstarted his love affair with the Cheltenham Festival:

SOUTHWELL HOTTING UP (LOL)

Honestly, we genuinely never thought we’d be talking up an all-weather maiden at Southwell like it was a Graded prize at Cheltenham, but given the fact one of the stars of the jumping world, CONSTITUTION HILL, is rocking up in it, here we are.

In a Racing TV interview released yesterday, it seems Scottish based trained Nick Alexander is the first to throw his hat in the mixer with a view to taking the big guy on:

Now, whether it was tongue in cheek or not, he jovially suggested Hendo’s Grade 1 winner would be too slow for the race and the £40k pot might be too attractive to ignore. His fighter comes in the form of PLANTIN MOON who was seen braking his maiden recently in a 2mile class 4. He’s absolutely no where near the level of CON HILL so we’re assuming Nick said this in jest, but all jokes aside, PLANTIN MOON is effectively bred for the flat with speed embedded in the pages on the dam’s side, so why not give it a go!? It surely will be the only time PLATIN MOON gets to race against him again! We say go for it!

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