Gavin Cromwell
Gavin Cromwell’s William Hill blog: Newbury & Fairyhouse weekend preview
William Hill ambassador Gavin Cromwell previews Perceval Legallois’ chances at Newbury and a selection of his runners across the weekend at Fairyhouse.
Newbury, Saturday
We’re happy with Perceval Legallois ahead of his run in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury (3.00pm). He’s in good shape and has worked well at home. He’s running off a career-high mark which is a tough ask on his first run back, but I think conditions will suit him and he could run well.
It’s a difficult race to go to without having a run this season, but he’s had a racecourse gallop and he’s in good order.
Fairyhouse, Saturday
We have a lot of runners at Fairyhouse this weekend and Crescent Moon goes in the mares’ handicap chase (12.09pm). It’s nice to see her in handicap company and hopefully she’s in a more suitable grade now.
She’s off a mark of 118, 1lb lower than her hurdles mark, and I’m hoping she’ll make into an even better horse over fences. She’s got plenty of size and scope and I thought she jumped well on her first couple of runs over fences. I’m hopeful she’ll run well here.
We have three in the Listed handicap chase (12.44pm). We’re looking forward to getting Midnight It Is started back here with his first run of the season. The King Of Prs didn’t get too much of a run out last time after being brought down, but he seems in good shape for this and Eoin Staples is good value for his seven-pound claim. Je T’Ai Porte has a couple of runs under her belt on the Flat, so she’s fit and ready to go here.
Unfortunately for all of these horses, they’re probably not very well treated in the handicap anymore. It’s hard to see them showing a great amount of improvement at their age, but it’s still good to get their seasons going and see where they can take us.
Barrys Spirit was a good winner at Downpatrick the last day and he steps up in the Grade 3 Hurdle here (1.53pm). It’s a bit of an unknown and he could well be out of his depth, but we’re happy to give him a shot at it and see how he gets on.
It is always good to try horses in these Graded races and see if you can get in the places. There’s not a whole lot of options for him at the moment so we’re just happy to get him back out, keep his momentum going and see where that takes us.
We have another two in the novice hurdle (2.25pm), both of which were winners on their last starts last season in maidens. Kamino Bello is a nice horse and he seems to have gotten stronger over the summer. I wouldn’t like to see the ground go heavy for him and if it stays as it is, he should be able to run a good race.
Court Canyon is another who won’t want it heavy; soft would be fine for him but we wouldn’t want it any worse than that. He’s in good shape and I’m looking forward to getting him going again.
Noble Birth goes in the handicap hurdle over two-and-a-half miles (3.00pm). He disappointed us a bit in the Cork National when he just stopped and was pulled up. We’re hoping he’s come on for that run and he’s off a mark of 125, so it’ll be interesting to see how well he can run off that.
He has an entry in the Grade 1 Novice Chase at Leopardstown at Christmas, so it’ll be good to get another run into him here. That race has been the longer-term plan for him, so this suits nicely.
Fairyhouse, Sunday
We start off Sunday with In My Teens in the Grade 3 hurdle (12.35pm). I thought she settled, jumped and ran well at Punchestown the last day, but maybe the deep ground just got the better of her.
Stepping up into Graded company is a bit of an unknown for us because she’s still a maiden, but at the same time, I think she can run well here with a nice light weight.
Now Is The Hour goes into the Listed chase (1.05pm) with the benefit of a run under his belt. I thought a race like this was one he could run well in so hopefully he will. The softer the better for him, and if conditions go his way then he could run a big race.
We had The Passing Wife entered in a maiden hurdle on Saturday as well, but we’ve chosen to go in the Grade 2 novice hurdle (1.35pm). I might be pitching him in a bit deep, but he’s a good horse in his own right and could run well here.
I wouldn’t be running him in this race if I didn’t think he was capable of getting involved. It’s a nice race to have a runner in and I think he could go well.
The two-mile Listed handicap hurdle (3.11pm) here is a great pot and we’ve got two runners. Path d’Oroux switches back to hurdles here after running a decent race over fences in Carlisle a few weeks ago. His mark over hurdles is a bit lower and with 11st 5lbs on his back I think he could run well.
Luker’s Tipple just hasn’t been able to get his head in front and it’s been a bit frustrating for us. It’d be nice if he could do it in a race like this and we’re happy to let him take his chance. If he breaks his duck here it’d certainly make up for all the near misses!
