Williams on the warpath

Evan Williams is ready to launch an assault on the £20,000 (€29,600) Jewson Handicap Hurdle Final with his improving youngster Warpath on October 25.

The Welsh handler has nominated the contest, run over an extended two miles on day two of Cheltenham’s first meeting of the season, as the five-year-old’s probable next port of call after he has impressed in winning his last two races.

“The plan is to let Warpath take his chance in the Jewson Handicap Hurdle Final, touchwood. That’s where we’d like to head with him,” he explained.

“I’m glad that we managed to get another race into him after he won his qualifier.

“He’s a big young horse and the experience will have done him good last time because he had to knuckle down, put his head down and race a little bit.

“A nice bit of rain right now would help the job considerably and a stiff track like Cheltenham should be right up his street,” he concluded.

Williams also intimated that his talented eight-year-old Demi Beau could be seen in action at the meeting, which traditionally whets the appetite for the season ahead.

“Demi Beau is another horse I might send to one of the first two Cheltenham meetings,” he went on.

“He ran reasonably well in the Jewson Novices’ Handicap Chase over two miles five furlongs at the Festival in March, and he could be the type of horse for one of those two-mile chases.”