Charisma Cat is our star turn at Wincanton on Boxing Day
December 23
Alan stresses that it will be a relatively quiet Christmas for Barbury, though he is looking forward to seeing Charisma Cat out again in the mares novices hurdle at Wincanton on Boxing Day, a race which has cut up to five runners, one of which is another of ours in Innisfree Pearl, who will have benefited from her first run over jumps over the same course last month.
He said:”Charisma Cat was a smart bumper horse, winning three of her four races and, while we all felt that Market Rasen was the one that got away. she did not handle that track at all.
“Having got her black type when winning a Listed race at Sandown in March, Charisma Cat stuck to her task on her hurdling debut at Newbury in November, finishing second to a smart previous winner. She will hopefully have learned plenty from that experience, so we are hoping for the best.”
We are doubly-represented in the finale at Kempton on Boxing Day, with North Lodge (Sam Twiston-Davies) reappearing after a two-year absence under top weight in the two mile and five handicap hurdle, being accompanied to post by stablemate Believitanducan (Philip Armson).
Believitanducan is a versatile staying four-year-old, having won on the Flat and since taken well to hurdling, winning three of his five races, the most recent at Plumpton three weeks ago. Philip’s 3lb claim will come in handy as his mount has gone up 4ld for that victory.
It will be great to see North Lodge back. He was a smart hurdler before his problems, finishing third in the Grade 1 Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree the previous April.
Another on the comeback trail is Paradias, who attempts to win Wolverhampton’s mile and a half handicap for the second successive year.
Alan added:”Paradias fractured a bone, so this will be his first run since York in May. Before winning this race 12 months ago, Paradias had a prep at Southwell, but after seven months off he won’t be as straight as he was then. However, he is a decent horse and, like North Lodge, whatever he does here he’ll improve on next time.”
Reflecting on Helnwein‘s fifth at Ascot last Saturday, Alan added:”It was a sound performance. and it was probably a stronger race than the Greatwood, in which he finished second at Cheltenham last month. We’ll keep him over hurdles for now, and he’ll probably run next in Newbury’s big two-mile handicap in February.”
Alan was also satisfied with I’d Go Maniac‘s fourth in the mile and a half handicap at Wolverhampton, observing “we were in the wrong division as Sir Mark Prescott’s Westcombe galloped us all into the ground in the second leg and clocked a time 2.7s faster than the winner of the first division.”
Ernest Gray hung on in there until fading at the second last in the three-mile handicap hurdle at Haydock the same day, and Alan felt he just got tired in the holding ground.
However, there was a lot to like about Galaxy Star‘s head second in the fillies junior bumper at Newbury, and Alan said:”You’d have to think that the penalty beat Galaxy Star, and they pulled well clear of the third, so it was a good run and she’ll probably run next at Market Rasen in February.”
