Pat Fahy talks up Morning Assembly’s ‘great chance’ in National
Pat Fahy’s stable star claimed the scalp of Friday’s Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Don Cossack as a novice a couple of seasons ago, but has since spent the best part of two years on the sidelines.
Following a couple of readying efforts, the nine-year-old crossed the Irish Sea to contest the Ultima Handicap Chase at Prestbury Park last Tuesday and ran a race full of promise to finish fourth.
Fahy said: “He came back from Cheltenham well. He didn’t have any cuts or bruises and we rode him out for the first time since this morning and he seems in great form.
“The Aintree National is definitely the plan and, with Don Cossack winning the Gold Cup, you would have to say on his best form he must go there with a great chance.
“I was delighted with how he jumped in Cheltenham and it just proved the run before in Gowran was down to the ground. He just couldn’t jump out of it that day. He was much better last week, apart from the third-last, where he just took off too far off it.
“It’s credit to the horse and to Davy [Russell] that he stood up as he barely made it, but for that he would definitely have been an easy third.
“We’ve plenty time enough before Aintree. He’s all the work done and he’s in tip-top shape, so it’s just a case of freshening him up and giving him a couple of blows.
“I’m happy with where we are with the horse.”
Fahy is keeping his fingers crossed Russell will be on board again at Aintree on April 9.
“Hopefully, Davy will ride him,” the trainer added. Davy is one of the cutest jockeys around and knows the horse well. He might have other commitments, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Another that could be Aintree bound is Thistlecrack.
In fact, supporters could get the opportunity to see him in action twice more this season after trainer Colin Tizzard raised the possibility of running his brilliant Ryanair World Hurdle hero at both the Aintree Grand National meeting and the Punchestown Festival next month.
Having already claimed the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, the Long Walk at Ascot, and the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham, the eight-year-old was a hot favourite to extend his winning run on his return to Prestbury Park last Thursday and did so in stunning fashion in the hands of Tom Scudamore.
Thistlecrack impressed at Aintree last spring before chasing home Killultagh Vic at Punchestown and Tizzard will consider doing the double header once more as long as his charge remains in rude health for the next six weeks.
“As long as the ground is OK and the horse is in good form, I don’t see any reason not to take him to Aintree,” said the Dorset-based trainer.
“I know he’s had four runs already (this season], but his races have been nicely spaced out and he seems to have come out of Cheltenham very well.
“He came back home well, he hasn’t turned a hair and doesn’t look like he had a particularly hard race, although when you get into that top league, the races are bound to take something out of you.
“As long as the ground is on the soft side of good, he’ll go to Aintree and we’ll see where we are after that. He could go to Punchestown as well. There’s three weeks between the two, which is perfect, so we’ll see.”
The Liverpool Stayers’ Hurdle is run on Grand National day, April 9, while the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown is staged on Thursday, April 28.
