Expensive purchase
The four-year-old won three of his four starts for Nicky Henderson last year, including a Grade One bumper at Punchestown, and will have his first outing for trainer Howard Johnson in the Ribchesters Chartered Accountants Novices’ Hurdle at Hexham.
“Graham (Lee) has sat on him and he jumps well,” Johnson said yesterday.
“It is raining at Hexham at the moment, which is good news. The softer the better. He loves heavy ground.”
Royal Rosa is likely to start a very short-priced favourite for the three-mile event and the County Durham-based trainer is confident his charge will see out the trip.
“I’ve started him off at three miles as I’m sure the one thing he will do is stay. He looks a real stayer, but we’ll find out tomorrow. We can always drop back to two and a half if things don’t work out.”
The son of Garde Royale has had several entries during recent weeks, but has missed those engagements due to fast ground.
Johnson added: “Graham (Wylie) asked me if we can run at Hexham, and I said ‘no problem’. He has a house and a business up there, and Lord Transcend won there early on in his career, so it’s a good place to start.”
