Lord du Mesnil showcases his class
LORD Du Mesnil booked his ticket for another date on Merseyside with a gutsy display in the William Hill Grand National Trial at Haydock.
Second 12 months ago, Richard Hobson’s stable star led them all a merry dance from the outset - and showed stamina and guts aplenty at the finish.
Having seemingly put the race to bed two out, Venetia Williams’ Achille arrived late on the scene but Lord Du Mesnil and Paul O’Brien were not to be denied.
Relishing the thorough test and showing that the extra distance in the Randox Grand National - which is on Saturday, April 10 - will surely be no problem, the 8-1 chance pulled out more to win by half a length. The Two Amigos ran another creditable race to be third.
“That was a great performance today to carry 2lb more than last year, I’m chuffed to bits,” said Hobson.
“That’s the first time he’s had his ground this year - at Chepstow the ground had been covered for 10 days and was almost good to soft.
“When he gets in that rhythm he’s a hard horse to pass, his jumping is always great on the whole and Paul gave him a lovely ride.
“If it could just be soft for us, over four-miles-two that would be enough, but obviously anything quicker and it’s not going to be his race. I’ve always said the ground is the key to him.
“He’s got an entry in the Ultima (at Cheltenham), but I think we’ll avoid that and keep him fresh for the Grand National. He’s got a beautiful weight and we know he stays well. It’s not every year you have a Grand National horse.”
Hobson - for whom it was a poignant victory, as his father, Russell, a former trainer, died just two weeks ago - added: “Paul knows him inside out, it just hasn’t been his year up to now, the Sefton was too short and at Chepstow it wasn’t soft enough.
“He has overheated in the past, but he didn’t today. Paul got off as a precaution.”
The Nick Williams-trained Galahad Quest (12-1) had finished behind Marown when they last met but turned that form around with the favourite in the williamhill.com Best Odds Guaranteed Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.
The two had it between them up the long Haydock straight once The Ferry Master had dropped away, but it was Galahad Quest, who had arguably jumped better, who prevailed by two and a half lengths.
David Noonan was on board and said: “The first-time tongue tie has obviously worked.
“He jumped well in the main, it’s all experience for the future and hopefully he can have a nice career.”
Fergal O’Brien’s Alaphilippe (10030) was an easy winner of the Albert Bartlett Prestige Novices’ Hurdle and is set to head to Cheltenham.
RYAN Lowe thought Plymouth Argyle were dominant for most of the match in their 0-0 League One draw away to Rochdale.
Lowe and his players had to settle for a point despite a first half display which saw them create a number of good chances.
Midfielder Panutche Camara went close to scoring as early as the third minute with a close header which was pushed away by Rochdale ‘keeper Gavin Bazunu.
Further opportunities followed, and Lowe thought it was going to be only a matter of time before his side made the breakthrough.
However, playing on a pitch at Spotland which was fully renovated last summer, Argyle found it difficult to play at the tempo they wanted to.
Rochdale came into the game more in the second half and Argyle’s Mike Cooper had to make one fine save from Aaron Morley’s 25-yard drive.
In the end, Lowe was satisfied with an away point, but he believed it could have been three.
Lowe said: “I thought we dominated more or less all the game. We probably had the best chances.
“If we score early on we win the game comfortably. They sat in, two banks of four, and were hard to break down.
“I thought we broke them down quite well in the first half and had the chances. Second half, there was only one team looking to win it, and that was us.
“Fair play to our lads, they withstood their little bit of pressure in terms of long balls and seconds, and looking for ricochets and knock downs.
“We made sure we stood up to that because we had to. We knew that was what they were going to do.”
Lowe continued: “The pitch didn’t help. It looks the part - I think they have spent £600,000 on it - but it’s not very good.
“It stopped us moving the ball faster, quicker. We had to take an extra touch.
“You have seen over the far side, the lads were trying to control it and it was bobbling over their legs.
“We still tried, though, we have played pitches, especially last season, which weren’t great.
“We were just looking for that little bit of brilliance, or that little bit of luck, where it drops to someone and they poke it in.
“It wasn’t for the lack of trying. It’s another point in the right direction, a point away from home, and we move on.”
Argyle substitute Ryan Hardie did have one late chance to get a winning goal but scuffed his shot as he checked inside.
Lowe revealed: “I said to Ryan afterwards ‘Just snapshot it’.
“We work a lot on snapshots because if anything drops to you, if you get your snapshot away quick no-one knows what’s happening.
“The ‘keeper can’t get set, defenders don’t know if you are going to take a touch or snapshot it.
“Ryan just thought he could try and chop inside, and that’s fine. When we are in those areas the strikers make those decisions.”
The draw against Rochdale extended Argyle’s unbeaten run in League One at the start of 2021 to nine games.
Lowe said: “I think overall our performance was good. The way we moved the ball from side to side and got in between the lines.
“We just didn’t move it fast enough, but that wasn’t for the lack of trying. That was because of the pitch.
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it was bobbling up everywhere and it wasn’t nice to play on. It didn’t allow us to take less touches. We had more touches and they (Rochdale) get in two backs of four, get men behind the ball and were happy for us to keep going side to side.
“You have to respect the point as well. Rochdale have been through a
little bit of a bad spell.
“We know what that looks like. We know what it is. If we had scored early we felt we would have scored a couple more because they would have had to come out.
“Whether they were playing for a point I don’t know, but we were definitely playing for three.
“Fair play to them (Rochdale) they put bodies on the line, the ‘keeper made a couple of decent saves.”
Lowe added: “All I can do is worry about us. If we keep working the ball through the thirds we will create plenty of chances.
“I’m disappointed to not get all three, but I’m happy that we have gained a point away from home.”