Bold Endeavour has Laura Morgan dreaming of big things to come
Laura Morgan is excited to see how far Bold Endeavour can go after extending his unbeaten record in impressive style at Wetherby
A £190,000 purchase after winning an Irish point-point, the Fame And Glory gelding has since landed a Sedgefield bumper last spring and a maiden hurdle at the County Durham venue two months ago.
Faced with three other last-time-out winners, Bold Endeavour was a 3-1 shot to add to his tally in the Bet At racingtv.com Novices’ Hurdle and ultimately got the job done comfortably.
It was not entirely straightforward for the six-year-old’s supporters, with David Noonan having to chivvy along his mount with a circuit still race to keep him interested.
He's come away from them like they were stood still
But when the field emerged from the fog Bold Endeavour had moved into second behind Escapeandevade and the further he went the better he looked, with 12 lengths separating the pair at the line.
“That was very impressive,” said Morgan.
“He’s a weirdo at home – there’s no getting away from it. I couldn’t believe today that he never really travelled as we struggle at home to get him to relax. I think the next day I’ll take the hood off.
“I think he’d prefer a bit better ground and I’ll probably aim him now for the Premier Hurdle at Kelso in early March before going on to Aintree – that’s the plan.
“He’s very exciting. That was a good novice hurdle today – there were good animals in behind – and he’s come away from them like they were stood still.”
Our Jet justified cramped odds in the wetherbyracing.co.uk Maiden Hurdle.
Second and fourth in two previous starts for Dan Skelton, the six-year-old was the 2-5 favourite to make it third time lucky under Jack Andrews, having undergone wind surgery since his latest outing.
Our Jet moved into the slipstream of the front-running Cartonne rounding the home turn and readily extended nine and a half lengths clear.
“It was pretty straightforward. He was dropping back to two miles today and to be honest he’s a horse that wants two and a half and a little bit better ground,” said Andrews.
“He did it well and was only doing as much as he had to. Hopefully next year he’ll be a lovely chaser.”
Andrews went on to complete a double aboard the Pam Sly-trained Haafapiece (6-1) in the Watch Racing TV In Stunning HD Handicap Hurdle.
Micky Hammond was thrilled to see stable star Cornerstone Lad (7-1) get back on the winning trail in the Book Corporate Hospitality At Wetherby Racecourse Handicap Chase.
The 2019 Fighting Fifth Hurdle hero moved smoothly into contention under Conor O’Farrell and knuckled down from the final fence to secure his first chase win by two and three-quarter lengths.
“He’s done terrifically well,” said Hammond.
“Although that’s his first win over fences, he’s never run a bad race. Last time he was possibly a shade disappointing and I did wonder whether we’d gone for the Castleford Chase a year too soon, but we decided we’d have a crack at it.
“Today we went back to the cheekpieces to sharpen him up and he came there like a good horse.
“We’ll look for something else in the north. I think it will have done him the world of good to win.”
You Some Boy completed his hat-trick for the in-form Rebecca Menzies team in the racingtv.com Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
A winner at Newcastle and over this course and distance in December, the seven-year-old led from start to finish to score by just over four lengths in hands of Nathan Moscrop.
Menzies, saddling her sixth winner of the month, said of her latest victor: “Everything has just clicked for him and he seems to keep improving a little bit.
“He’s got a likeable attitude who carries his head very low. He was still green after the last – Nathan said he pulled his stick through and he just ducked away a little.
“He’s a lovely horse who will make into a nice chaser next season.”
Ballyrath made a triumphant return from 960 days off the track in the Racing TV Anywhere Handicap Chase.
Gary Hanmer’s 12-year-old had not run under rules since May 2019, but powered to the lead and found plenty for pressure on the run-in for Tabitha Worsley to secure top honours.
“It’s some training performance. Colin (Moore) who owns him rides him out every day,” said Worsley.
“He has actually run in two Newmarket Town Plates since he last run under rules.
“He’s an absolute joy to ride and jumps from fence to fence. Between them Gary and Colin have got him spot on for today and I was the lucky one to steer him round.”
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