National Hunt Stable Tours 2017/18 all in one place
Get the lowdown from some of the leading National Hunt yards as the 2017/18 season begins in earnest.
Paul Nicholls
CAPITAINE: "He has had two runs over fences. The one at Newton Abbot at the back-end was to teach him, then he ran at Market Rasen on Saturday and beat a horse rated 133 hard held by 22 lengths. We are really pleased with him and he is only five so hopefully there is lots of progression in him. He lost his way a little bit in the spring, but he was a big, weak horse. He didn't quite see his races out, but he is much stronger now. He will probably head for the Henry VIII now at Sandown. I have a slight suspicion he is better going right-handed."
CLAN DES OBEAUX: "He is a really nice horse and had a wind operation in the summer. He struggled with his breathing, but he still did quite well. He was good winning at Newbury and he ran very well when he was just beaten by Whisper at Cheltenham. He will probably go up to the Colin Parker at Carlisle and we will go from there. Hopefully he will get three miles, but he is still only a five-year-old."
DIEGO DU CHARMIL: "He is a very nice horse and won well first time out. It didn't go to plan last time, but he did strike into himself and he will be off until Christmas. He was lucky as it was only millimetres from a severe injury. He will have three quiet weeks now. I think a lot of him and there is plenty more to come from him. He wants better ground and we are looking at having him right for the major meetings later on in the season."
Warren Greatrex
Aloomomo: "He was one that I had big hopes for last season and obviously he had a disaster. He had that fall where he broke his shoulder at Cheltenham and it was touch and go at one point. Thankfully the surgeons and the team did a fantastic job and he is back in full training. The plan is for him to have his first run back over hurdles at Bangor on October 31. I still think he is a really good horse and we might take at look at the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival at Newbury and see if we can find something there afterwards."
Keeper Hill: "He will go novice chasing. He did well last season, but he just came up short in a couple of those big races at the end of the season. He should be a better chaser than he was a hurdler. We will start off low key and I would say he will probably start off over two and a half miles. I don't think he wants to go three yet and I think it was a step up too far last season for him. He is still young, but has done well and he looks the part."
Missed Approach: "He ran an absolute cracker to finish second in the four-miler at Cheltenham. He then finished eighth in the Scottish National. That was probably his best run and he was still in front two out. His big target is the Grand National. Whether he goes over the fences between now and then, I am not sure. I think he could be a nice type of horse for the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury. We might give him a prep run before that in the West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby. He has done really well over the summer. He was a bit in and out last year and hopefully he will redeem himself."
Petticoat Tails: "She was placed twice in Listed bumpers at Sandown and at Aintree. She looks really exciting and has jumped really well at home. We will probably start her off over two miles and see what happens after that. She was as good as The Nipper and La Bague Au Roi were at the same point in their careers. She has always looked quite smart and could well progress to get more black type now over hurdles."
Western Ryder: "He was high up there with the best bumper horses last season and will go novice hurdling this season. He will start over two miles and go somewhere small to start with. He has done very well over the summer. Fingers crossed he turns into a good novice hurdler. He won a Listed race at Ascot. I then think he was unlucky as things went against him at Aintree and he had been on the go a long time. He was probably too far back at Cheltenham and he came up the wrong part of the track. If he can do that again and get to those meetings, there is nothing to say he won't be very exciting."
Charlie Longsdon
Snow Leopardess: "Snow Leopardess is a nice mare and won nicely in France on her return. There is a decent mares' handicap on Badger Ales day at Wincanton that Kalane ran in a couple of years ago that she could go for next. There is also a race at Kempton at the end of November which is a three-mile Listed race. In an ideal world, and if we are all happy, we would like to take her to Cheltenham. There is no reason why she would be out of place there as she has won a Listed race and a Grade Two."
Monty's Award: "His bumper win at Worcester was strong form. He was not quite right when he ran second time at Doncaster, but he finished a creditable fourth. I would like to think he can take higher rank among the novice hurdlers this season. I think he will be a stayer in time. We will look at the EBF Final at Sandown as a long-term target, but if he is handicapped too high then that is a good thing and we can look at graded races. Of the novice hurdlers he is the known quantity and can be top of the pile."
Pendra: "He might be one for the tail-end of the season again having had the autumn off. He ran the race of his life to be beaten in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham. It was a great effort to get there on his first run since the Grand National. He has been a flag-bearer for our yard the last five years."
Colin Tizzard
Thistlecrack: "He is cantering now and has been in for a couple of months, he came in early August. He has had plenty of walking. He will have one race before the King George, that is our aim. We have got to decide what there is in that little block, it could be he goes over hurdles. It was a good performance in the King George, but we have come to expect that. He was a World Hurdle winner with almost his head in his chest and as a novice expectations were high. He was a good horse in February and that setback won't make any difference at all."
Finian's Oscar: "He came with a big reputation last year and has fulfilled that in spades. He is a beautiful horse. Robbie Power schooled him and you would have thought he was a handicap chaser. He could easily end up as an Arkle horse, as he is not short of pace. There is the JLT at Cheltenham now, but the more prestigious race is the Arkle."
Pingshou: "Last season was basically his first season racing and he got up to 150. We are going to see if we can turn him into a Champion Hurdle horse. He will start off next month and he could go up to Newcastle for the Fighting Fifth. If he is not good enough we will turn round at Christmas and go novice chasing with him. He was good at Aintree last year and he only just got touched off at Punchestown."
Cue Card: "He is ready and has been in a long time. I thought he needed the run a bit at Wetherby last year, but I am going to try to make sure he doesn't this time. He is getting older and doesn't need to go there 95 per cent but right on the boil. For me, he is as good as he has ever been. We will probably go the Ascot Chase after Christmas, then to Cheltenham. Whether we go to the Gold Cup or the Ryanair will be decided later on."
Alan King
Yanworth: "I've always felt this season he would be going chasing. He has had a few schools and has jumped very well. There is possibility he could go to Exeter at the end of the month and then there is one in early November as well. I would think around two and a half is where we will campaign this season. I don't think he will be an Arkle horse. We will see how it goes through the season, but he could be a JLT horse or an RSA horse."
Sceau Royal: "We always thought he would be very good over a fence and touch wood he has been. Hopefully fences will continue to improve him as he is only five. I think he is a two-miler and if he is good enough we will aim for the Arkle. I would be thinking Cheltenham at the end of the month. It would be an option as if you can go around Warwick you can go anywhere."
Ben Pauling
Willoughby Court: "He’s done brilliantly as he’s not the sort of horse that has summered well before. He looks great and we’re now well into our preparations for his first run of the season. He’s done five or six pieces of work at home, at least, if not a bit more and here we are in the middle of October with November 5 as his first target. I honestly think the JLT [would be his preferred Cheltenham Festival target] at the moment."
Barters Hill: "He’s in really good form. I can’t say anymore than that. He’s doing two canters daily, he is absolutely loving it, charging up there trying to do more and more every day. We’ll step him up to three canters in a short amount of time and then we’ll get him back working. I guess it’s when we work and school him that we really find out what is there. But at this present moment in time, everything that I have hoped for is there. At the moment, touching wood, everything has gone very smoothly and I’m confident that he will return and run again. We don’t know what level of ability he’ll retain, if it’s anything like the ability he had then he’s going to be very well handicapped."
Harry Fry
Unowhatimeanharry: "He continued to thrive last season. We are looking forward to following a similar route this season and we will start off at Newbury on December 1 in the Long Distance Hurdle, then hopefully go for the Long Walk. The races plan themselves at his level. He is nine now going on 10 and there are no plans to go novice chasing, we will just stick to what we are good at."
American: "He did nothing wrong over fences and we are looking forward to a second season over them. The logical target for him is the Ladbrokes Trophy and that is what the focus is on at the moment, as he has got the ideal profile for the race. He just gallops and jumps and that is what won him the race at Uttoxeter. The race at Warwick he just jumped them into the ground. Down that back straight I don't think I've seen anything jump like he did, let alone a novice doing that."
Fergal O'Brien
Colin's Sister: "She may have to go against the boys first time out, but there is a Listed race over three miles at Kempton at the end of November and that's her main aim this side of Christmas. I'd love to go to Cheltenham with her, but whether we get soft ground there is another thing. We will just take it one race at a time."
Cap Soleil: "She has been jumping well at home and is a bit bigger and stronger than last season. I think we will start her off over two miles at Newbury in early November and take it from there."
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