Stuart Crawford ponders Ryanair Chase option for Fine Rightly
The eight-year-old defied his starting price of 33-1 to finish third behind Carlingford Lough, justifying Crawford’s decision to run.
He is not in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham and could skip the meeting altogether, but Crawford is pleased he at least has the option.
“I was absolutely delighted with him, it shows we were right to run and he’s come out of it well,” said the County Antrim handler.
“That was his first step into Grade One company and his first run at three miles, so there’s more to come.”
Crawford added: “He’ll have learned a lot from that — I was over the moon really.”
Assessing plans, Crawford went on: “I imagine handicaps are gone now, but they all but were before as there’s usually something that has been plotted at the big ones all season to beat those with big weights.
“We’ll keep him in that company now, but he’s ground dependent — he needs a bit of dig.
“He’s in the Ryanair and I’d have no trouble about running over that trip on a championship course as long as the ground was right.
“We’ll just play it by ear, there are a couple of options in Ireland or we could just give him an easy month to make sure we have a fresh horse for Punchestown.
“I think he’s got enough pace for a lot of those graded races over two miles in deep ground in Ireland, but ultimately he’s a stayer.
“We’ll have a lot of fun with him, I hope.”
- Tomorrow’s meeting at Limerick has been cancelled due to a waterlogged track.
The going was already described as soft to heavy with heavy patches but with more rain forecast an early decision has been taken after a course inspection.
A tweet from Horse Racing Ireland read: “Limerick cancelled on Wednesday, 10th February due to waterlogging and an adverse weather forecast.”
