Matt Brocklebank reflects on Sunday's racing with a Punchestown winner identified as an ideal candidate for a big spring handicap.
Those who like their ‘longest travellers’ were counting the cost after Nicky Henderson sent Fantasy World on the 780-mile round trip from Lambourn to Musselburgh, only for the big-money buy to fluff his lines.
Henderson withdrew the 600,000 guineas purchase from his intended jumps debut just down the road at Newbury earlier in the month due to testing conditions, but had identified Sunday’s opening Sunshine On Leith Maiden Hurdle, in which the 103-rated Flat recruit received 12lb from his older rivals.
Pitching a well-regarded juvenile into an ‘open’ maiden just a few weeks before Cheltenham in order to properly test the water looked a typically shrewd move on the face of it – and not too dissimilar to the one made by Paul Nicholls when his three-year-old Minella Yoga beat the Henderson-trained Act Of Innocence getting 20lb in an Introductory Hurdle in December – but the idea back-fired big style.
Not the most high-profile potential back-fire when it comes to the Seven Barrows stable on the day, admittedly, but there will be some long faces after Fantasy World jumped sloppily and could manage only fourth at odds of 30/100 after Nico De Boinville accepted his fate soon after turning for home. Two of the four four-year-olds in the race filling the first two places showed the theory to be a good one, but on this evidence the punchline regarding Fantasy World and the Triumph now pretty much writes itself.
Sunshine On Leith peaked at number 41 on the charts for the Proclaimers... I can’t imagine this fella will be going more than 500 miles from home again anytime soon.
On a brighter note for the Henderson four-year-old contingent, Manlaga looked a useful recruit when winning the Victor Ludorum in testing conditions at Haydock on Saturday, although the trainer admitted on Luck On Sunday that he has the Fred Winter in mind for the French import. So, her revised mark will be worth keeping an eye out for on Tuesday.
As impressive as she was, it’s worth noting the Paul Nicholls-trained runner-up Pourquoi Pas Papa was conceding the filly 4lb and was only beaten two and a quarter lengths. He’d previously won well in a maiden hurdle at Wincanton to further advertise the form of Jamie Snowden’s six-year-old Johnny’s Jury who had beaten Pourquoi Pas Papa – and three other subsequent scorers – by almost 10 lengths at Exeter on January 9.
Johnny’s Jury, incidentally, ran once over hurdles for Henderson before changing hands for £75,000 at Goffs last January and he is back in action for Snowden in Monday’s two-mile novices’ hurdle at Carlisle (13:05). He is 50/1 and 66/1 for the Turners and Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle respectively at the time of writing. Few will be expecting this long odds-on shot to be turned over.
Back to Sunday and the horse to take forward with big spring handicaps in mind is Heads Up, who was runner-up to No Drama This End earlier in the season and may have landed Punchestown's Listed novice hurdle a shade more snugly than first meets the eye.
Hooded for the first time and back in trip after a free-going flop in the ‘Classic’ novices' hurdle at Cheltenham on Trials Day, he probably wouldn’t have had to make his own running in an ideal world and it was encouraging to see how he really found again for Danny Mullins after Lazare De Star loomed large on touching down at the last.
Rated 133 in Ireland going into this, his fourth start over timber, he won’t be able to get qualified in time to run in the Martin Pipe at the Festival next month which feels like a bit of an opportunity missed given his experience of the place (also finished runner-up to Bambino Fever in last year’s Champion Bumper), but a switch to handicap company, in a bigger field with a stronger pace to chase, could unlock plenty of further improvement in the coming weeks.
"He's a horse with an engine and that's the main problem sorted," Mullins said on Racing TV.
I'd be inclined to agree.
WATCH: Heads Up wins Irish Stallion Farms EBF Sheila Bourke Novice Hurdle, Punchestown
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Published at 16:40 GMT on 15/02/26
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