Braavos can make hay for hobbs
Charlie picks some dark horses to follow
Rather than focus on the opening Classics of the season it might be useful to focus on a couple of dark horses who have caught my eye in the last few weeks.
Braavos (Philip Hobbs)
Impressive Market Rasen Bumper winner Braavos had struggled, despite winning a small novice hurdle at Exeter, on soft ground all winter in a light-campaign,but he was a revelation back on a sound surface at Perth last month. As a son of Presenting he was always likely to appreciate the return to a sound surface and the hope is that he can make hay during the summer for Philip Hobbs.
His win in the beautiful grounds of Scone Castle gave jockey Richard Johnson his 233rd win of the 2015/16 jumps season beating the tally achieved by Sir AP McCoy in his final season.
Johnson’s brilliant ride from the front on Native River for Colin Tizzard at Aintree showed he was as good as ever and his first title is richly deserved.
Sam Twiston-Davies will give Dickie plenty to think about in the seasons to come but, in the short term, Johnson deserves all the platitudes he will get after the Sandown coronation.
Braavos’ should make a decent novice chaser in time but the hope is that he can land a couple more handicaps this spring/summer. It was a good contest he won at Perth off an opening mark of 119 and he is likely to get 7 or 8lbs;I feel he will be well up to defying that rise as long as the ground is no worse than good.
Fatherly Friend (Karl Burke)
This lightly-raced 3-y-old was declared to make his seasonal reappearance in a 6f handicap at Doncaster off an opening mark of 77; as a juvenile the American bred colt was far too free to fulfil his undoubted potential but suggested that he could become a potential group race performer, if he learns to settle.
Burke, interestingly, fits the horse with a tongue-tie for his reappearance and I wondered whether he would be fitted with a hood for his first start of the campaign, or,indeed,given the cruellest cut of all. I am convinced there is a talented horse trying to get out;his pedigree suggests good or faster ground is likely to suit and if he were to become more amenable to restraint, as he matures, he could have a very good season.
Cloudy Dream (Malcom Jefferson)
I am really looking forward to seeing this grey over fences next term but I just wonder if connections will consider a tilt at the Swinton given he has only been raised 4lbs (to 137) for finishing runner up in the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr last month.
The 6-y-old has won four of his seven career starts for his stable who had an excellent season but may have found a horse to go to war with.Whether he was unlucky or not behind Dan Skelton’s Ch’Tibello is open to debate, but one thing is for sure, it was a tremendous finishing kick he produced for Noel Fehily, who was riding him for the first time in the absence of Brian Hughes through injury.
The son of Cloudings did win on ground officially described as soft back in March but I am convinced he would not be seen at his best on winter ground.
Something like the Greatwood Hurdle at the BetVictor Open Meeting in November might be a suitable early season target although he might not be seen at his very best until sent over a fence; he has huge potential.