Bravemansgame was an easy winner at Haydock on Saturday
Horse racing analysis: Timeform guide to exciting novice chasers
By Timeform
12:58 · TUE November 23, 2021
Timeform react to five key performances in the novice chasing ranks in the last seven days.
Bravemansgame (Timeform rating c156p)
A Plus Tard was the headline act at Haydock on Saturday, ultimately running out an effortless winner of the Betfair Chase for Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead – as you can read about in the Timeform report.
Aside from A Plus Tard, Bravemansgame produced the other standout performance on Merseyside, making it two from two over fences as he easily brushed aside the smart Itchy Feet in receipt of just 4lb in the graduation chase.
His jumping was pretty near faultless and, having been pressed for the lead at the end of the back straight, he reasserted from four out without his rider needing to do much at all, value for appreciably more than the bare margin with the time providing further substance to his effort.
Bravemansgame is bound for the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton next month and he will surely be the one to beat in that. There is no real need to speculate on his Cheltenham Festival target just yet, though the brilliance of his jumping hardly suggests a slog is what he's likely to need.
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Run Wild Fred (c156)
Run Wild Fred still hadn’t won a race over fences from eight attempts before the Troytown Handicap Chase at Navan on Sunday, but he has really turned a corner since being fitted with blinkers and this victory was just reward for a series of consistent efforts during the second half of last season before another at the start of this.
Runner-up in last season’s Irish Grand National, Run Wild Fred took his form up another notch as he justified strong support in this valuable handicap, making all to win by seven and a half lengths from stablemate Farclas in totally dominant fashion.
Run Wild Fred has the potential to develop into an Aintree contender this season, though connections also have the option of putting him back into novice company before then for a contest such as the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham.
Incidentally, this performance is up there with the best produced by any novice chaser in Britain and Ireland so far this season, though it goes without saying that Run Wild Fred doesn’t have the same scope for improvement as the likes of Bob Olinger and Bravemansgame.
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Bob Olinger (c152p)
Perhaps no novice chaser has made a more hotly-anticipated debut in recent weeks than Bob Olinger, one of last season’s outstanding novice hurdlers who was back in action at Gowran Park on Saturday, the same card on which he had suffered his sole defeat over timber 12 months earlier.
Bob Olinger was inevitably sent off at very short odds and he duly made a smooth transition to chasing, brushing aside a strong field in the manner of one destined for the very top in this sphere. He jumped safely and travelled well before taking it up on the home turn, putting in one of his worst jumps of the race at the last (steadied into it) but still passing the post with six and a half lengths to spare under just hands-and-heels riding.
Bob Olinger is likely to stay three miles when the time comes and the sky is the limit for him over fences. Put simply, he must be considered one of the most exciting horses in training right now.
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Edwardstone (c148p)
A smart hurdler at his best, Edwardstone didn’t make it very far on his first attempt over fences at Doncaster last December, blundering and unseating his rider at the fourth. He then had even less luck when having a second crack at Warwick at the beginning of this month, shaping well and looking set to take all the beating when brought down four out.
At last everything came together back at Warwick on Wednesday as Edwardstone produced a smart performance to get off the mark over fences. Settled just behind the leader in the early stages, he jumped soundly and quickly asserted after being produced to lead approaching two out, giving 8 lb and a comfortable beating to one who wasn't far behind him over the smaller obstacles.
Edwardstone didn't manage to win a good race over hurdles but, on this evidence, there must be a strong chance he'll put that right as a chaser. He is sure to go on improving and looks up to making his presence felt in graded company before too long.
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Minella Trump (c142)
Minella Trump probably doesn’t have the ability of those mentioned above, but his achievements in the last six months or so are remarkable in their own way as he made it seven wins in a row with a routine success at Catterick on Friday.
Three of those wins have been achieved at odds-on, including at Catterick where he was already in the process of mastering his only remaining rival when left clear three out. As such he didn’t need to better the form he had shown previously, but there is no doubt he is a useful chaser who has been expertly placed by Donald McCain.
The time will surely come soon when Minella Trump has a crack in better company, but for now McCain is happy to simply savour the moment.
“That was a little bit special,” he told Racing TV. “These things don’t happen very often. The last horse to win seven in a row for us was Peddlers Cross and I’ll never train another one of those. This is a different story and a different type of horse, but for him to go through the grades and learn his job along the way is credit to him – he’s a star.”
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