McCoy eyes Kelso spoils
Tony McCoy will make the long journey up to Kelso on Saturday in an attempt to plunder one of Scotland’s biggest prizes of the season.
The champion jockey will get the leg up on Jonjo O’Neill’s Keepatem in the Ashleybank Investments Scottish Borders National, run over a demanding four miles.
The 11-year-old was formerly in the care of Gold Cup-winning trainer Mouse Morris in Ireland and did not join O’Neill until the start of this season.
Keepatem showed something of his old sparkle finishing second at Uttoxeter to the Paul Nicholls-trained Nozic, who is likely to go off favourite for the VC Casino.com Gold Cup at Newbury at the weekend.
McCoy will once again be in the famous green-and-gold silks of his boss, JP McManus, and hopes for a nice pay-day in the build-up to the Cheltenham Festival.
“He ran quite well behind Nozic. He is what he is really and he’s had plenty of goes already without winning,” said McCoy.
“We are really going up to Kelso to see if we can pick up some nice prize money.”
Ferdy Murphy saddles Your A Gassman, who showed a flicker of his former ability on his last start, and Lucky Nellerie, an improving novice chaser who has won two of his last three starts.
Stable jockey Graham Lee has stayed loyal to Your A Gassman, leaving PJ McDonald to continue his successful association with Lucky Nellerie.
Murphy said: “I asked Graham if he wanted to ride Nellerie and he said ’not at all’.
“PJ has been successful on him and done all the work at home on him so he should ride him.
“He was pretty difficult when he first came and PJ taught him to settle and he has now won twice on him.
“I think Graham would have ridden Your A Gassman anyway because he has done a lot of work at home with him.
“He ran really well on his last start at Haydock for him. He lost his confidence when he fell in the Feltham and Graham has gradually built it back up.
“It will be interesting to see how he goes as he won over three miles at the track and I think he will stay.
“He was very good in his novice day and it is just unfortunate what happened to him but they are only animals after all. It knocked him for six.
“He has dropped in the handicap as a result and even though the top horse (Kilbeggan Blade) looks as if he could be hard to beat, both of ours are very well.”
