Fenton in no rush to make plans for Dunguib
Last season’s Champion Bumper winner has made a seamless transition to obstacles and, after two relatively low-key successes over timber, he routed Grade One opposition by seven lengths on Wednesday.
“He’s been out in the field for the first half of the morning and seems in good shape, so I’m delighted,” said Fenton.
“He ate up well last night which is always good when they’ve had a race on heavy ground – you never know how much it has taken out of them.
“The ground might not have looked all that testing but it really was tiring ground, so we’ll just have to see how he is in a week or so before we decide where we’ll go with him.
“We’ll have a chat about whether we’ll run at Christmas or not and then make a plan.”
Bookmakers Paddy Power were so impressed by his effortless display that they installed him as 4-1 favourite for the Champion Hurdle, with a run, but Fenton’s current plan is to stick to the novice route.
“At the moment we are going to stick to novice races, but I would imagine he’ll have an entry in the Champion Hurdle,” the County Tipperary handler continued.
“If we did go down that route we might look at the Irish Champion Hurdle beforehand, but all the options are open and we just want to make sure we make the right decision.”
Brian O’Connell has ridden Dunguib on each of his eight racecourse starts and, worryingly for the opposition, feels the son of Presenting will be even better when encountering a quicker surface.
“The pacemaker in the race (Deise Dan) helped me as it was a good gallop and a true-run race, so it worked out in our favour,” the jockey told At The Races.
“Going that bit better gallop meant he jumped much better and I was delighted with him.
“It’s hard to say how much more is to come but he travels so well in a race and just seems to pick up very easily.
“He’s done everything well so far against novices, but the Champion Hurdle is a different ball game.
“I’ll leave that up to Philip and the owners.
“Personally I think he’ll be better on better ground, but he has so much class he seems to handle heavy. Ground doesn’t seem to make a difference to this horse.”
