Stuart Crawford will be keeping a close eye on the bet365 Morebattle Hurdle, as connections plot their next move with Leopardstown scorer Brucio.
Owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, the six-year-old has begun to get her act together over obstacles and following a successful Catterick raid in January, secured Listed honours with an impressive display in the Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Brucio was subsequently handed an entry for the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, but with Crawford unsure if she will make the trip to Prestbury Park, it is of note that she also holds a ticket for Kelso’s feature handicap on March 2.
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“It was a nice surprise winning at Fairyhouse, we certainly weren’t going there bullish we had a good chance, but she was at the right end of the handicap and she was open to plenty of improvement,” said Crawford.
“Hopefully she will keep on progressing, but I don’t know if we will head to Cheltenham with her. I’ll have to sit down and have that discussion and the beauty is there are plenty of options for her and first things first, we would try to pick something where she has the chance to pick up some good prize-money or get her head in front again.”
Irish raiders have enjoyed success in the Morebattle since its reincarnation as a handicap in 2021, with The Shunter winning in the Borders before going on to strike at the Cheltenham Festival.
Crawford himself went close to landing a blow in the race the following year with Saint D’oroux and he admits it could be the ideal place to enhance Brucio’s CV while others have their sights on the Cotswolds.
“There will be plenty of focus obviously on Cheltenham (in the next few weeks), but I will have no problem at all collecting a bit of prize-money at Kelso, that would suit me all right,” he said.
“I think we will definitely be keeping an eye on Kelso and it will probably be a more valuable race than what she would be going in at Cheltenham.
“How well is she going to be treated by the handicapper? That is hard to say and she will take a hefty rise for what she did at Leopardstown. But hopefully she can still be competitive in a big handicap like that.”
He went on: “She made a very promising debut at Punchestown last spring in the mares’ bumper there and showed a bit of ability, but afterwards she probably underwhelmed a little bit and underperformed in her next two starts in bumpers.
“Ultimately she has just probably been more suited to going jumping and even though she has taken a run or two to find her feet, there is hopefully plenty of progress still to come with her.”
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