With the snow wreaking havoc with fixtures I have been busy looking ahead to the Cheltenham Festival and what runners we will be having at this year’s NH showpiece.
Two horses that will definitely have entries are Etxalar, trained by my partner Lucinda Russell and Gloucester who is with my son Michael down in Herefordshire.
Etxalar is a horse that we have high hopes for here at Arlary House and will have entries in the Jewson and the William Hill.
He has always looked the type do come into his own over fences and after easily winning on his first start over the larger obstacles at Haydock ran a blinder behind Skippers Brig at Ayr.
The winner, a very useful seasoned handicapper, went on to finish a cracking third to Poquelin in the Boylesports Gold Cup at Cheltenham and that showed that our horse had an impossible task at the weights in the Ayr race.
Yet despite being badly in and having only his second start over fences, Etxalar ran a remarkable race and was only beaten 1 ¾ lengths after making after sprawling badly and getting bumped at the 12th and then hitting the third last really hard.
If he hadn’t had made them errors then the outcome may have been different. We will never know but there is no doubting that it was an excellent effort to get so close to the winner under the circumstances.
His next outing could either be at Cheltenham at the end of the month or in a Grade 3 contest at Wetherby at the beginning of February which is usually won by a decent type.
He has been schooling well at home and remains an exciting prospect.
Gloucester has been given a break after enjoying plenty of success over hurdles and on the flat and is being trained with another crack at the County Hurdle in mind.
He ran very well in the race last year and was going as well as anything two from home where he took up the running. That was too early for him to be in front and he faded quickly after jumping the last to finish 10th of 27 to American Trilogy.
He’s a horse that needs holding up as long as possible, and he had also run in the Supreme Novices on the opening day of the Festival as we weren’t sure that he would make the cut for the County.
I think that run may have taken the edge off him for his main target, so in the circumstances he ran very well indeed.
Since then he has gone up enough in the ratings to ensure that he should get in the line up for this year’s contest, so he will not be running twice this time round!
Given good, quick racing ground I think he may well surprise a few people and run very well at a big each-way price.
