Cheltenham & Wetherby

Breizh River (far side) winning the Simply Ned Chase at Kelso – photos courtesy of www.pennypictures.co.uk

DAYS like Saturday are what anyone involved in racing lives and grafts for. We were luckily enough to have a winner at Cheltenham’s November Meeting 12 months ago with Cannock Park – more of him later – and I’m thrilled for everyone connected with the yard that we’re going back there this weekend with another of our stable flag-bearers.

Anyone who’s followed my blog over recent weeks will know that we’ve been aiming BREIZH RIVER (1.45) at this fixture since his gutsy victory in the Simply Ned Chase at Kelso six weeks ago. Initially we were looking at the 0-150 handicap chase on Sunday’s card, while we also gave him an entry in the Paddy Power Gold Cup. 

But having pored over things and had a good chat with Richard Hale and Wilson Renwick – two guys who know the form as well as anyone and whose judgement I really trust – we’ve decided to send him back against fellow novices in the Paddy Power Arkle Trial, which takes place 35 minutes before the big one on Saturday’s card.

Breizh River at Kelso

This will be the first Graded race Breizh River has contested and it will no doubt require a career-best from him if he’s to enhance his record over fences to four wins from five starts.

On official ratings, we’ve got 13lb to find with the top-rated L’Eau Du Sud for the Skeltons – but I’m quietly confident he’s improved enough since Kelso to at least give a good account of himself at this level. 

I’ve been riding him out myself recently and he feels very fresh, very well and very happy in himself. Ryan Mania hasn’t partnered him in a race yet – Sean Quinlan was on board for his Simply Ned win – but Ryan’s ridden him at home a couple of times and came in again on Thursday to pop him over a few fences. Ryan’s ridden winners around Cheltenham, including at the Festival, and is a great horseman, so I won’t tie him to any instructions. I’ll just let him ride Breizh River as he finds him and the race unfolding.

Our other runner today is the aforementioned CANNOCK PARK, who has Sean Quinlan on board for the first time in Wetherby’s 12.27, as Craig Nichol is at Uttoxeter. I’m keen to get more experience into him – Cannock Park that is, not Sean! – as he’s nothing like as mature mentally as Breizh River, for all that they’re the same age at six. 

Where are you going? Cannock Park watches Breizh River leave for Cheltenham, while he’s off to Wetherby

This will be his third chase start in five weeks and I think we’re getting there with him now. I thought his inexperience as a chaser caught him out at Kelso three weeks ago, as they went plenty quick enough early on, he ballooned the second fence and the race didn’t really go his way after that.

He didn’t run a bad race, far from it. He was beaten less than seven lengths by Pay The Piper. But I think he’s learned from it. Certainly, his work since then has been better and he seems to have come on a bundle mentally too. Going back against novices here seems to be the right move, especially in a small field with only three other runners. Once Sean knew he was going to Wetherby, he was itching to ride Cannock Park and I think the track – a nice flat, left-handed circuit, with two long straights – will really suit him.

While he’s not delivered what I expected of him so far, I still think there’s a good horse in there waiting to be unlocked. What we need to do now is get his confidence up again and get him back to winning races again. I’m pretty hopeful we’ll do that this weekend.

Cheers,

Paul