It has been a pretty quiet winter here at The Paddocks but the thought of Champagne Champ going over hurdles has kept Rod warm these past few months. He is by far the best flat horse, rated 93 at his peak, that we have sent over obstacles and we are very grateful to his owners for keeping him in the yard. He made a promising debut when finishing third on heavy ground at Wincanton, where the minimum trip sharp enough for him and we were hopeful of plenty of improvement stepping up at Chepstow on Saturday.
Given a sensible ride by Nick Schofield, he was always handy before pressing on up the home straight. Although he wandered about a bit going to the last, a cracking jump sealed victory and he was always doing enough on the run to the line. He has been given an official mark of 128 and we are likely to look for another novice in the next couple of weeks. If he improves again, he could be one for the 3m Novice at Aintree as he has certainly taken to hurdling well and his flat class could take him far.
While, we have been quiet on the jumping front in recent years, as a former West Country jump jockey, there is nothing Rod likes more than having a few jumpers in the yard. With seven winners from just 18 runners in the last two jump seasons, those successes coming in bumpers, hurdles and chase contests, it would be great if owners sent us a few more to go to war with under National Hunt rules.
We have also been slightly unlucky not to get off the mark on the all weather in 2018, with three places from six runners. Langlauf had lost her way since recording three wins on the all-weather last summer, including a £25,000 handicap at Chelmsford but she found some form recently and was unlucky the winner got first run on her when second on her last start at the Essex venue. She has a wonderful pedigree for her future broodmare career and is due to be covered by Dansili. Glory of Paris has strengthened up nicely from three to four and returned in a messy race at Kempton, with the runaway leaders ignored and he ended up been beaten a neck and a neck into third. Hopefully, he can build on this and progress through the season.
With just over three weeks until Doncaster (does not feel like it with the current weather!) it is not long until the main string returns to the track and we can’t wait with some lovely horses to go to war with. There will be a yard tour appearing on the site in a couple of weeks – keep an eye on social media for when it is posted.