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Meetingofthewaters changed hands (again) before Cheltenham with a tilt at the Grand National in mind and new owner JP McManus must have come away from the Ultima buoyed with enthusiasm with that longer-term project in mind.
His wide-margin Paddy Power Handicap Chase victory earlier in the season saw the BHA give Meetingofthewaters a mark of 147, meaning he was too high to run in the 0-140 Kim Muir, but it does ensure he’s due to race with an attractive weight of just 10-4 at Aintree, and he only needs four to come out to guarantee a run in the big one.
Granted, he’s still only seven and is relatively inexperienced after just half a dozen starts over fences but the way he travelled on Tuesday suggests he’s still got loads in hand from the assessor. Early keenness – combined with the heavy conditions – took the sting out of his finishing effort up the hill but I’ve no real concerns over him seeing out the four and a quarter miles on better ground in four weeks’ time.
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It paid to be handy in the Grand Annual, Harry Skelton putting himself in the perfect pocket just behind the leaders on eventual winner Unexpected Party, and with that in mind I think we ought to be upgrading the effort of Gordon Elliott’s novice Sa Fureur in fourth.
He fared best of those settled towards the back of the pack early on, jumping without major blemish and still going smoothly under Jack Kennedy on the run down the hill towards the third-last.
He showed a decent turn of foot to almost bridge the gap with the more forwardly-placed runners but a sticky jump halted his momentum a bit and he couldn’t respond.
Sa Fureur won a Grade 3 novice hurdle over two and a half miles last year and seems likely to be plying his trade outside of handicap company again before too long, most likely back up over an intermediate trip as he’s yet to race beyond an extended two miles so far over fences.
CHANTRY HOUSE – 10th in Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle
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A week to forget for Nicky Henderson and no doubt he’ll be desperate to regroup as quickly as possible ahead of what could be a particularly fruitful Grand National meeting at Aintree.
Let’s hope the stable stars are fit and healthy by then as Jonbon, Constitution Hill and Shishkin could make it more of a week to remember on Merseyside.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on all of his handicappers there too as a few ran well in difficult circumstances at Cheltenham, including Chantry House in the Pertemps.
He didn’t run quite as well as stablemate Bold Endeavour, who was fourth under Daryl Jacob, but James Bowen’s mount did shape quite well in the first-time blinkers before the petrol gauge ran empty late on.
He’ll probably be eased another couple of pounds on the back of this run and is undoubtedly extremely well handicapped on his old form over hurdles and fences.
ARCTIC BRESIL – 12th in TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase
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There’s no question the fast-finishing fourth and fifth, Life In The Park and In Excelsis Deo, will be the pair to go into most notebooks following Thursday’s Plate as they were both badly impeded in the incident which saw Riaan (almost fell before being pulled-up) and Saint Felicien (brought down) depart four fences from the finish.
However, I’m not giving up on Value Bet selection Arctic Bresil, who was messed around a bit at the standing start (following an initial false start) and not entirely ready when the tapes eventually went up for real.
Rachael Blackmore didn’t panic and brought the novice wide with plenty of room to tackle the fences but it wasn’t an ideal slot as he was giving away ground the whole way round.
The seven-year-old travelled like a well-handicapped horse and made a smooth move to latch onto the leaders around the top left-hand turn before the descent but he wasn’t great four out either and the early exertions ultimately took their toll on the rise to the line, having turned for home in a share of fourth.
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Flat speed won the day in Friday's County Hurdle, with Ebor winner Absurde completing a remarkable double for Willie Mullins having landed the big York handicap on the Flat last summer.
L'eau Du Sud ran another fine race following his Betfair Hurdle second to Iberico Lord, just getting nabbed after the last having looked booked for another Dan Skelton success in the competitive handicap, while last year's narrow second Pied Piper ran another belter in third under top weight.
The one to take forward is Henry De Bromhead's Magical Zoe, who was outpaced by the first two but put in a spring-heeled leap at the last and stayed on strongly to get involved in the bunched finish for the minors.
She's clearly a class act, will definitely benefit from a more strongly-run race over two miles and could be making her mark in Graded company before the season's out - especially if kept to her own sex.
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