BUCK’S FIZZ
Trainer keen to go with the Flow while his star shows no signs of losing his sparkle
MAKE hay while the sun shines.
At 11 years old, Regal Flow is one of the elder statesmen in today’s Coral Scottish Grand National at Ayr (4.05) – only the teenage Benbens is his senior.
But trainer Robert Buckler believes his gelding is in the form of his life and is happy to drive the horsebox for eight and a half hours from Somerset to Scotland’s west coast.
“He has gone up 21lb this season and it’s asking quite a lot but, as I said to the owners, next season he may not be the same horse.
“The yard might have a grumbling bug and have a bad season. While they’re well and they’re happy, crack on with them. We might even look at the bet365 Gold Cup for him at Sandown next Saturday.”
His exploits this winter suggest Regal Flow is both well and happy.
He won for the first time this season at Wincanton on Boxing Day and captured two races in the space of five days, including the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter, last month. There was an element of good fortune in the Uttoxeter victory as Buckler only made the entry for Regal Flow, who runs in the colours of Chris and Heather Dunn, in case the handicap chase at Taunton the previous Monday fell to the weather.
“The Dunns are directors of Taunton racecourse, so were obviously very keen for the horse to run there, and it looked a suitable race,” he explains.
“The ground was dodgy and we were wondering what to do. We had to enter him for the Midlands National way before, so we had that in the back of our minds. He won at Taunton and when he came off the lorry afterwards, he seemed incredibly well and very happy.
“The next day, he was bucking and galloping around and I thought, ‘You’re not too tired!’”
Regal Flow, continuing his fruitful partnership with 5lb conditional Sean Houlihan, vindicated the return to the well at Uttoxeter with a 10-length victory over Milansbar.
The going was heavy at Taunton and Uttoxeter, and the sudden heatwave will ensure quicker terrain on Scotland’s west coast today.
However, Buckler insists: “I’m not worried about it. The others might go a bit quicker, but I’m not frightened by it. They used to
say he wants good ground.” Buckler, now 63, was in his late fifties when deciding to downsize his operation of “35-40” horses to “about 10” with a move to near Spaxton in the Quantock hills. The yard has had only seven victories this term, but from just 35 runners – a strike-rate of a more than respectable 20 per cent. “I’m enjoying the training and the way of life so much more and it’s paying off in the way the horses are running,” reasons the trainer, best known for his star chasers I Hear Thunder, winner of Aintree’s Grand Sefton Chase in 2006, two-time Cheltenham victor The Sawyer and 2009 Irish Grand National hero Niche Market. The Scottish National sees Buckler engage with power-base trainers Gordon Elliott, Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls. “They are in a position to buy the very expensive horses. I don’t have an owner giving me a blank cheque,” he adds. “They’ve obviously got the advantage in the level-weights races, but once you get in the handicaps, everyone is as good as each other. “On the way Regal Flow has run his last two races, you can’t say anything against him. “He stays, won’t mind the ground and is very, very well in himself. “I wouldn’t advise somebody to have masses on him, but if he’s 20-1, an each-way bet? You should get a bit of value out of it.”