Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 1)

THE picture for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in March is a very cloudy one, but if he wasn’t already in the frame – so to speak – then Gary Moore’s Porticello (Jamie Moore) put himself there with a clear-cut win in the Grade 1 Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow on Monday.

Weak in the market, the son of Sholokhov (sound familiar?) was sent off at 100/30 at the off, but only faced one serious challenge as he and runner-up Saint Segal (Jane/Chester Williams) dominated the closing stages, with the winner pulling clear on the long run-in to record an impressive eight-and-a-half-length success.

Forever William (Alan King/Tom Bellamy) was a close third having disputed the lead for much of the way.

The well-backed favourite was Harry Fry’s Forever Blessed, but he lost any chance of winning when badly hampered after the de-facto third hurdle, all but unseating Sean Bowen, and his failure to complete is both an aberration that should not be held against him, and a reason to mark the form down slightly, as his departure from the race is sure to have eased the winner’s path. Tommy Dowson got a total of 16 days ban for this and an incident after the start.

Improvement

Porticello was only second to the Milton Harris-trained Knight Salute at Doncaster, but he was unraced on the flat and seemed undone by the winner’s tactical speed and know-how on Town Moor, so it’s easy to accept this win as an improvement for a gelding still learning his trade.

Saint Segal is even less experienced, with this outing just a second in any form of competition and he can be expected to improve for this education. Both must improve to be considered Triumph Hurdle candidates, but they will benefit from another run or two before March, and they should be viewed positively.

Coral Welsh Grand National

THE idea of a Welsh stable winning the Welsh Grand National was once no more than a pipe-dream, and after Norther won in 1965 for Denzil Plummer Jenkins, there was a barren period of over half a century for local yards, made worse if anything by a flurry of winners trained just across the border in Hereford.

Things can change quickly in racing, however, and when Iwilldoit (Sam Thomas/Stan Sheppard) passed the line nine lengths ahead of Highland Hunter (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden), he was becoming – remarkably – the third consecutive winner of the race trained on Welsh soil.

Winner of the Welsh National Trial over three miles on his previous start, the 13/2 shot has been hard to train, but looked ahead of his mark in winning by a wide margin in a race where only five of the runners completed the course.

Truckers Lodge (Lorcan Williams), a stablemate of the runner-up, just shaded Achille (Venetia Williams/Hugh Nugent) for third, some 16 lengths behind the winner.

This was a doubly special winner for local interests, as Iwilldoit is a son of the winning jumper Lyricist’s Dream, who Sam Thomas rode to provide breeder and permit-holder Reg Brown with his final winner.

Reg, who died a few years ago at the age of 95, was a popular figure on the Welsh racing circuit, and a long-term friend of the Thomas family around Abergavenny.

Thomas admitted afterwards that the winner is rarely ridden at home because he’s fragile, and explained why punters might want to hold Grand National bets.

“We had a plan, and all credit to Stan, who rode it to the letter; we took it up down the back and the horse enjoyed himself. With the featherweight we had, it made it tough for the others to get to him. Last season never really happened for him, and I made a blooper running him in the Borders National first time out, which set us back. It was an absolute bog out there today and he wouldn’t want to be taken out of his comfort zone. I’ve always seen him as a mudlark, so I don’t know about the Grand National and wouldn’t want to pinpoint it as a target.”

Retired

All runners returned safe from Chepstow’s marathon, but it represented the end of the road in racing terms for that grand servant Native River, as it was announced that Colin Tizzard’s former Gold Cup and Welsh National hero would be retired after pulling up here.

It’s a testament to his durability and big heart that this was the first time he’s failed to pick up prize money since running in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham six seasons ago.

That run of in-frame efforts includes 22 consecutive runs in blacktype contests prior to this rare disappointment, while he can boast 14 wins in a long and distinguished career.

He has rightly become one of the most popular horses in training in that time, and it’s to be hoped that he enjoys a long and happy retirement.