ONCE again, the weather has played havoc with the racing program and it’s very unfortunate that Sandown, who did well to stage racing on Tingle Creek Day, are forced to abandon their Saturday card which featured the Unibet Veterans Chase Final where we were set to run Mill Green. It’s a terrible shame for all concerned, and all the tracks are struggling, but hopefully things will literally brighten up and we can get on with the jumps season.
Luccia
Many of you have been asking about Luccia was very good at Ascot last time and I’m pleased to say she has come out of the race well. The main problem with her is that there is nowhere to aim at, and I’ve had an idea that I might like to try her over two and a half to see if she’d make the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. It may be a case of finding a race somewhere and learning if she does get the trip or we simply go straight to the Festival and hope that she stays. I honestly don’t know, but it was great to see her get her head back in front.
Wow, very impressive from Luccia there! Definitely a horse to keep an eye on for the future 👀
— Lucas Coppin (@Lucas_Coppin) March 12, 2022
All the Js
Jango Baie won the G1 Formby (Tolworth) Hurdle at Aintree and looked very good in the process. He’s still learning and is most likely to have another run. I don’t know where he fits in among the rest of our novice squad, which I must admit, does look particularly strong this year, and we’ve now got to decide who goes to what and where. I don’t want to take them on against each other before Cheltenham if I can help it, and we also have Jeriko Du Reponet, along with a whole host of others who all need another run, at least, before we start to shuffle the pack.
Decisions, Decisions
We have to make a decision about Shishkin and Constitution Hill and I have just spoken to Michael Buckley who I’ll have a more in-depth chat with next week. There is the Unibet Hurdle on Trials Day, and he could go there, if he doesn’t, he’ll go straight to the Festival. It’s a similar story with Shishkin who has a couple of options in either the Cotswold Chase or Denman, and I’ll speak to the Donnellys, but I’d say with him it is more likely to be nothing rather than something.
As there is no racing, I thought now was a good opportunity to answer a few of your questions that were sent in to @Sevenbarrows.
Q&As
You asked, and Nicky answered!
@Smithyjoe16
How is Under Control? I still stand by her being a very good mare; Sandown told us that! Newbury must have been disappointing, but she is clearly better than that. Any plans for her moving forward?
You are very right about her, she is an extremely good mare, and we were all particularly disappointed after Newbury. We couldn’t see much because of the fog and rain but Nico said two out she was definitely going to win and ten strides after the second last she wasn’t even going to finish so something clearly has gone wrong. She has never made a noise or shown any wind issues, but we have cauterised her palate which may, or may not, help. It is a bit of a shot in the dark, but often when horses stop as quickly as she did, there may be an underlying breathing issue so we have tried to rectify that and hopefully she will get her career back on track. I haven’t decided where she goes next but, depending on what Constitution Hill does and if she’s ready, she could be entered for the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham, or be kept for the Betfair Hurdle.
@IanCheltEx
Spring Note was very impressive with her Mares Hurdle win at Newbury. Has she come out of the race sound and what could be the plan for her next?
She is a lovely, lovely mare who benefitted from a wonderful ride by James who stole the race from the front. I don’t think it was the strongest race, but she is very likeable, and I’ll be looking for a similar race again.
@DubaiAce
Do you think Shishkin is better than Might Bite who won an RSA, Aintree Bowl, King George plus second in the Gold Cup. Both enormously talented with a screw loose!
I wouldn’t quite say Shishkin has a ‘screw loose’, put it this way, I wouldn’t mind a few more with loose screws if they’re as good as him! It’s hard to compare the two because Might Bite was an exceptional horse who had a great temperament with character to go with it. Shishkin may have won the King George, who knows, but if they both had a match race on our gallops at home over five furlongs, a mile, two miles, or even three miles, Shishkin would win every time, but that doesn’t mean he is a better horse, because on the racetrack they are impossible to separate.
@goddard_luke
Hi Nicky, How is Nativehill getting along and are we likely to see him this season?
He’s having a year to grow up and will be out next season.
@CoMorefield
Bold Endeavour seems very consistent at Cheltenham and has raced well against the likes of Crambo this season off top weights. Is he a contender for the Pertemps Final off this form and does he have another run to come before, if this is the plan?
He is extremely consistent and probably should’ve won at Cheltenham last time, but a few things went wrong. He’s qualified for the Pertemps so could go there but does need dropping a few pounds.
@Birdman00530981
Will Constitution Hill come to Punchestown this year so the Irish racing fans can finally see him?
We took Sprinter Sacre there a few years ago and he probably put up his most sub-par performance of the season, so I definitely wouldn’t be running Constitution at all three spring festivals – and the ground can often come up pretty quick at Punchestown. That said, there is a very short gap between Cheltenham and Aintree this year which definitely brings Ireland into the equation, and he could go Cheltenham – Punchestown all things being equal, but let’s get his next run out of the way before we make any more plans!
@JamieSensible
What’s the plan with Doddiethegreat? Will we see him run in a few more Handicaps? Possibly Cheltenham in March?
I thought he ran a great race at Cheltenham, but I definitely want to step him up to two and a half miles and take it from there.
@simonsanders1
I know you’re not too concerned about the trainers’ title, but with potentially more G1 horses this season, I feel there is an opportunity to grab it back. What are your current thoughts?
This is something you can’t make happen. It all depends on where we are after Cheltenham and if we’re in with a shout, we’ll give it our best shot, but we won’t be running horses in the wrong races just to chase a Trainers’ title. We’ll just keep doing the job and it will either happen or it won’t.
@Swadlad
How is Willmount after Newbury? Was it just ground or trip or a combination of both, or did something else come to light?
I have absolutely no idea; nothing came to light and I am rather scratching my head. I can’t believe it was the trip because he didn’t go far enough before being beaten. He will run again, and we’ll see where we stand, but it was very disappointing, and I can offer no explanation.
@The666Beast666
Sir Gino looked mighty at Kempton with more to come. Where does he go next and just how good is he? Could we be knighting Sir Gino come March and how does he compare with your previous Triumph runners?
A very fair question and we’d have been awfully disappointed if he hadn’t won at Kempton. His jumping definitely needs to sharpen up, but we can easily sort that out. He’d only had one run in his life and, having come from France, I probably underestimated the education he had, or hadn’t had because I sort of thought he already knew it. We schooled him once, he was good, so I left it at that! He had been working like a very high-class horse and the form of the Kempton race has worked out well with the second winning at Ludlow today. He will have another couple of runs before Cheltenham, quite possibly at Kempton next week. We think, and hope, he is high class; at home he features pretty favourably with some of them.
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