Royal Deesside aims to get back on track at Newbury today
December 20
It’s D-Day for Royal Deeside in the juvenile hurdle at Newbury today as he ran no race on his jumping debut at Warwick, so should he disappoint again, Alan would put Plan B into action and revert to the Flat, where Royal Deesside showed plenty of promise last season.
Alan said:”There was no obvious reason why Royal Deesside didn’t fire at Warwick. He is a horse with plenty of scope and is the type who ought to make a hurdler. He has been in good form at home so, hopefully, he will show up better here. If not, we’ll put him away and prepare him for next Flat season.”
We also have Denburn and Dance The Moon at Newbury, and, assessing their chances, Alan added:”Denburn runs in the novice hurdle, which looks a good starting point for him. He was impressive when winning a bumper at Market Rasen last spring, and he was only just ready for his comeback there last month, when he ran ok under a penalty. Whatever he does here, he looks one who will improve as the season goes on.
“I am looking forward to Dance The Moon starting off in the bumper. She has a lovely pedigree, coming from the same dam as Lisp, Coeur de Lion and Dancing In Brazil, so I know the family well.”
We also have solid prospects with bumper winner Baby Sage in the novice hurdle at Ludlow. Alan said:”She schooled well, so it was a surprise when she unseated her rider at the first at Ludlow in October.
“She was fine schooling again afterwards and subsequently ran well at Market Rasen, where she bumped into what looks a useful winner. Baby Sage will have learned plenty from that, and I think she ought to be competitive.”
Exeter will be an emotional day for Alan tomorrow, when Midnight Glance runs in the amateur riders hurdle. Alan added: “He was owned and bred by Harry Kerswell and won three hurdle races and a chase for a man who was a delight to train for.
“Sadly, Harry died earlier this year after a long battle with cancer, and we were thinking of retiring Midnight Glance after he twice pulled up over fences this season. However, we’ve decided to run him here with Harry’s grandson, Rian Corcoran, taking the ride.
“Plenty of the family are planning to be there to support Rian, and, though Midnight Glance is not the force he was, fingers crossed he’ll give him a good ride.”
