Elvis needs more experience, says trainer

NICK ALEXANDER wants to give Elvis Mail more experience before stepping him up in grade, following a winning debut over fences at Ayr.

The six-year-old made several mistakes, but that did not stop him landing a smooth success from Seemorelights in a four-runner contest over an extended two miles in the hands of the trainer’s daughter Lucy this week.

Alexander will look for another novice event before throwing the grey into deeper waters.

“He needs to brush up his jumping, but it was lovely for him to win first time over fences, so I was very pleased,” said the Perthshire trainer.

“I really wanted to get his first run out of the way. I think, given his jumping wasn’t slick enough, we can’t aim too high without another round. I’ll try to find another novice with a penalty for him in about a month.”

Elvis Mail, a four-time hurdles winner over the last two seasons, was well on top at the line – despite his clumsy round of jumping.

“He needs more experience,” added Alexander. “It wouldn’t be right to pitch him into anything too competitive.

“He’s got a good accelerator button – which is nice to have – but he was flattered yesterday in that he was basically running against stayers.

“Then we’ll look for a race after that, hopefully.”

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Trained by Venetia Williams, the 10-year-old is without a win since New Year’s Day 2019 but has run several good races in defeat since, including when runner-up to Frodon in the Ryanair that same season.