REIGNING Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase winner Ablaze will still be set for the Grand National Hurdle and Grand National Steeplechase in August, despite being unplaced on the flat at his last start at Rosehill last month.
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Ablaze was well supported to win the Stayers Cup over 3200 metres at Rosehill, before finishing seventh in the 10-horse field.
Trainer Ciaron Maher, who trains in partnership with David Eustace, said the tempo of the flat race never suited Ablaze.
"Ablaze's last run doesn't look the best on paper but it's better than that," Maher said. "They walked and then sprinted in the Stayers Cup. We gave Ablaze a week's break up in Sydney after the race before taking him back to our Ballarat stable last Friday. He's as bright as a button. We'll push ahead with our plans to run him in the Grand National Hurdle at Sandown before taking him to the Grand National Steeplechase at Ballarat in August. I'm very confident he'll be very hard to beat in both those races."
Ablaze has won his four jumps starts. Two over hurdles and two steeplechase races.
Meanwhile, Maher revealed Irish bred stayer Mind The Crack will be set for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup, while his 2019 Warrnambool Galleywood Hurdle winner Big Blue will be set for feature jumps races in Victoria next year.
Mind The Crack, the winner of two of his eight starts, and Big Blue are in quarantine in Sydney.
"Mind The Crack comes to our stable very well credentialled," Maher said.
"He's a lovely type of horse and I'm confident he'll measure up to races in Australia. We took Big Blue over to England for a jumping campaign but nothing went right for us. He missed a lot of trackwork because it was so wet and that put us right behind the eight-ball. It was just a shame nothing went right. Race meetings and track work were abandoned which made it really difficult to get Big Blue right. He's in quarantine and will be trained from our Ballarat stables once he's out of quarantine and we'll look at setting him for races like next year's Galleywood Hurdle at the Warrnambool May Carnival and a few other jumps features."
From his four jumps starts in Australia, Big Blue has won three races.
BOOST
THE breeding ranks in the Western District have received a boost with first season sire Royal Symphony standing stud at Claremont Thoroughbreds, Balmoral.
Royal Symphony won four of his eight starts including running fourth in the 2017 Cox Plate behind the mighty mare Winx. Stud manager Greg Daffy is excited with the new acquisition to his breeding operation.
"We purchased Royal Symphony in an online auction," Daffey said. "We've had a lot of phone calls from breeders since we purchased him. He's a beautiful type of stallion. He stands at 16 hands and has a great racing record. He was undefeated as a two-year-old. We've found out since we purchased Royal Symphony that a lot of people watched his racing career very closely. We're expecting to get between 80 to 100 mares for his first season at stud. We've kept him very affordable for breeders with his service fee under $5000 which we think is great value."
Royal Symphony was a dual-listed winner and topped more than $440,000 during his short racing career. Balmoral is located between Hamilton and Horsham.
HONOURS
HAMILTON hobby trainer Trudy Cottier shared training honours with top jumps trainer Eric Musgrove at Warrnambool on Sunday. Cottier trained the two high-weight winners on the eight event program. She was successful with Delightful Scoop and Allaboutatitude, while Tiger Tim won a maiden hurdle for Musgrove and Gobstopper was his other winner. Riding honours for the meeting were shared by Tom Ryan and Lee Horner. Both had doubles. Ryan rode Cottier's two winners. Horner won on Bee Tee Junior and Flying Agent.
ALL SET
FOUR-time winning Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase jockey David "Butch" Londregan couldn't help but think of the famous race after his jumper Hierarchal won a maiden hurdle at the track on Sunday.
Londregan, who now trains two horses at Colac said Hierarchal will be set for the Grand National Hurdle in August before looking at the 2021 Grand Annual.
"I've only got the two in work," he said. "They both come from Mackay in Queensland. Hierarchal is a tough horse. I think there's plenty of improvement in him. I'll aim him at the National Hurdle but my long-term goal is the Grand Annual Steeplechase next year. I think he'll make a top chaser. I won the Annual four times as a jockey and would love to win one as a trainer."
Londregan's Grand Annual victories were on Thackeray in 1979 and 1980. Kaimoto in 1981 and Brigade in 1985.
TOUGH
TOUGH jumper Gobstopper is the horse to beat for the 2020 jumping horse of the year award. The Eric Musgrove trained Gobstopper registered his third feature jumps race this year when he won the Lafferty Hurdle at Warrnambool on Sunday. His other jumps features this season are the Galleywood Hurdle and Australian Hurdle.
A victory in the Dreschler Hurdle at Pakenham later this month would nearly cement Gobstopper's name on the prestigious trophy for 2020.
WHO TO THE FOLLOW
HASTA LA FIORENTE: forget he ran on Saturday. Had no luck in a 1800 metre race. He should be hard to beat in similar company next time. CORDILLA: impressive winner over 1400 metres at
Flemington: She will be competitive in better races in the spring.
VICTORIA STAR: liked the way he finished off his race on Saturday. He made good ground over the concluding stages and is ready to win after three runs from a spell.
FLYING AGENT: captured the attention of jumps fans with an easy victory in a maiden steeplechase at Warrnambool. He's ready to take the next step and run in tougher steeplechase races, the only problem for punters is they will be taking short odds.