Listen to Mother
Foot The Bill (4/1) and Theatrical Style (3/1) from Jeremy Grayson’s March selections have already scored next-time wins. These latest selections are trusted to do the same
2m175yds 0-110 CJ Handicap Hurdle (class 4)
A two-length third to a very feasibly treated Pipe horse and a subsequent winner with the rest nearly a distance behind marks this effort out as a return to form for MOTHER MELDRUM, and one which might even have garnered a closer finish but for her getting badly caught in the backwash some interference at an early flight.
Here, as when recording a C&D novice hurdle third just over a year earlier, the positives of the Milan mare’s evident effectiveness around this venue were tempered a little by the sense that a longer trip is going to be appreciated sooner rather than later; a sense given extra credence by the dam’s relation to the likes of Gaye Brief,Gaye Chance and Kingsmark.
Already tentatively tried once over fences this term, lasting only as far as the fifth, don’t be surprised if Victor Dartnall has another crack at the bigger obstacles with his seven-year-old as soon as the new season starts eight weeks hence; equally, don’t be surprised if she proves capable of going closer still upped in trip over hurdles before that eventuality.
CARLISLE, MARCH 10 (SOFT) 2m3f61yds NH Novices’Hurdle (class 4)
Out of a hurdles winner over 2m4f and beyond, the step up to today’s distance was always going to suit WAZOWSKI better than the 2m1f of his racecourse debut here previously.Whilst not putting him on the floor again,however,the jumping issues of that first run were once more evident here, and a 14-length third to two high-120s rated rivals (the first of whom ran at least up to his best, and possibly beyond) was a useful performance considering those basics were not all got right.
Bred by former trainer Norma Twomey and purchased as a three-year-old way back in 2012, Donald McCain’s son of Overbury has presumably had his issues but looks good enough to make up for lost time in moderate close-season northern novice hurdles,assuming greater alacrity comes with further practice; perhaps a form of concentration aid may help in the short term.
2m1f 0-120 Handicap Hurdle (class 4)
ASH PARK’s Irish Pointing form frequently verged on the eye-watering,with nine out of 14 runs in that sphere resulting in noncompletions, and it’s perhaps telling that Stuart Coltherd hasn’t been minded to send the Milan gelding between the flags in this country despite wife Lesley and rider son Sam both highly active in that sphere at present.
The smaller obstacles and shorter trip of today’s handicap hurdle debut suited the eight-year-old down to the ground, however, with the three-parts of a length winning verdict arguably flattering his closest rivals considering he was always holding on with a certain degree of comfort. Hailing from a yard enjoying a fruitful March (often a good month for it) through