Colm Greaves: 10 hurdlers who are set to make a big impression this winter
JUCE: Give It To Me OJ ,with Caoilin Quinn, wins the Masterson Holdings Hurdle at Cheltenham.
: 4
: Gary Moore and Josh Moore
There’s an old blessing, or maybe even a curse, that bids you ‘to live in interesting times,’ and there is little doubt that for the extended Moore family that times are currently very interesting. Gary and son Josh have enjoyed a decent year with their flat team and have already notched up 22 winners over jumps. Another son, the peerless Ryan, is growing closer to a resumption in the saddle following an eye-wateringly expensive injury, although his pain was eased by watching his own lad, seventeen-year-old Toby, ride his first winner recently. The Moore dynasty will be hoping that the oddly named Give it to me Oj is on an upward curve and can harvest some lucrative two-mile handicap hurdle races as the season unfolds. A winner of four of his seven hurdle starts his rating of 143 will get him into the better races on a competitive weight.
: 7
Barry Connell
Barry Connell initially intended to send William Munny novice chasing this season, but he’s had a rethink over the summer and will target him instead at the various spring Champion Hurdles. Connell has been reaping the rewards of significant personal investments in national hunt racing recently, particularly with Marine Nationale’s festival heroics. William Munny can help continue this momentum and further deepen the quality of the stable. He ran well when runner up to Kopec Des Bordes in the Supreme last spring and has been given an extended holiday since which has reportedly done him a world of good. The Champion Hurdle next March looks wide open and with a little more improvement William could be in the money.
6
Emma Lavelle
Emma Lavelle knows a thing or two about training long-distance hurdlers having guided the enigmatic and much-admired Paisley Park to 11 wins, including the Stayers title in 2019. There is little chance that Ma Shantou will ever reach such lofty heights, but he is a progressive young prospect who should feature in lucrative handicaps as the season progresses. Currently rated at 138 he probably has a fair few pounds in the tank before he hits his ceiling and having won easily on his return at Cheltenham last month. Reappears this afternoon at Haydock and should go close.
5
Willie Mullins
This time last year the relatively unknown French import Anzadam was being reverentially whispered as ‘Willie’s latest monster.’ His easy wins in Grade three contests at Fairyhouse and Naas did little to cool the excitement, but a couple of health niggles intervened, and he was given the rest of the season off. Mullins is hopeful that his troubles are fully behind him and that he can develop into a serious Champion Hurdle prospect. With State Man out for the season he is now the main hope for the Donnelly family. His first outing is planned in the Fighting Fifth hurdle at Newcastle next week and a probable clash with the ‘bay pimpernel’, Constitution Hill and The New Lion. This race will tell a tale.
5
Gordon Elliot
A colourful racing story from recent winters will be missing this time around. Owner David Maxwell has ridden all his own horses in recent years and although his style would never be confused with Ruby Walsh, his love and enthusiasm for the game was infectious. A persistent back injury has ended his career, and he decided to sell his string, lock, stock and barrel. The best of them could prove to be El Cairos who was bought for €450k and rerouted to Gordon Elliot who has high hopes for a successful novice hurdling campaign. Fifth in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham and subsequently second at Punchestown he, and many of the other 16 horses sold at the dispersal sale, will benefit from stronger handling from the saddle and might be better animals than they have looked to date.
3
Gordon Elliot
Two fillies have won the Triumph Hurdle in the last six years, Burning Victory in 2000 and Lossiemouth three years later. Before that female winners were very thin on the ground and while it’s too soon to declare a trend has formed, they can’t be easily discounted these days. Mange Tout, a half-sister to the top class Impaire Et Passe, was bought from France after winning her only race and kicked off her Irish career when readily winning the juvenile hurdle at Down Royal’s last month, a race won in recent years by Wodhooh and Quilixios, both subsequent Cheltenham festival winners. The three placed horses were all previous winners and so the form, though early in the season, looks decent. Elliot says, “She’s a really nice filly. She keeps putting her hand up and I’d say she has a lot of ability.”
Triumph Hurdle 20/1
5
Gordon Elliot
Teak tough Gordon Elliot wouldn’t normally be a tearful type of man, but he shed a couple when he took the last race of the Cheltenham festival, the Martin Pipe Hurdle, with his five-year-old mare, Wodhooh. He had saddled 47 runners without success that week and finally breaking the seal meant a lot to the Meath man. Wodhooh looks to be teak tough too, winning seven of her eight starts over hurdles which earned her a high rating of 154. Her only defeat came at Aintree at the end of the season when she was second to the brilliant Lossiemouth, no shame in that, and Elliot fully expects her to make her mark in open grade one races. Reappears at Ascot this afternoon.
7
Willie Mullins
At the beginning of last season there was an expectation that Ballyburn would blast his way unbeaten through his novice chasing season, winning all the top grade one’s easily and by now would be odds on favourite for the next year’s Gold Cup. If a week is a long time in politics, a year is an eternity in horse racing. Although winning a couple of chases he never seemed to be enjoying himself and he will be reverting to the smaller obstacles with the Stayers Hurdle as his principal target. Before he went chasing, he was an exceptional novice hurdler over a distance and if he recaptures that enthusiasm and ability, he could prove unstoppable. Reappears at Fairyhouse next week.
Stayers Hurdle 6/1
5
Henry De Bromhead
Echoing Silence made headlines before she had even set a hoof on a racecourse when she made €460K in the parade ring sale at the 2024 Cheltenham festival. Having been bought for just twenty-eight thousand a year earlier her vendors went home happy, and the ‘next Honeysuckle’ was soon on her way to Henry De Bromhead. She has had three runs to date, disappointing first time out at Navan but has won on her two starts since, including a nice easy victory on her return in a mare’s hurdle at Cork earlier this month. Henry is adept at improving fillies and mares and Echoing Silence could develop into another marquee animal.
4
Fergal O’Brien
And finally, the unsolvable problem that is the Champion Bumper. The winner is probably hiding in plain sight on the Clossutton gallops of County Carlow. Notwithstanding, nobody would begrudge Tipperary man Fergal O’Brien if his first Cheltenham winner was with Chicker. O’Brien and his social media helpers are a breath of fresh air in grey times for his sport, treating followers to daily reviews of Victoria sponge cakes, greyhound racing, the odd bit of news about horses and the serious topic of wellness and mental health. Chicker won a decent bumper at Cheltenham’s October meeting, giving weight away to a big field and despite running green he hit the winning post strongly. He disappointed next time out but had excuses. Something has to win it and why not Fergal?
