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Friday, March 29, 2024

Brian Hughes’ blog: I Wouldn’t swap Maximilian for anything

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It’s been a quiet week with all the abandonments, but things kick right back into gear this weekend. I’ve got a great bunch of rides at Doncaster on Friday and Saturday, while Cheltenham’s Trials Day looks good too.

It’s great that we get to see Edwardstone and Energumene taking each other on in the rescheduled Clarence House Chase. The former was a good winner of the Tingle Creek, and you can’t really knock that, but then Energumene’s performance in the Hill Way was impressive too. I think they’re very evenly matched, and it would be a pleasure to ride either of them, but I’m not sure who I’d pick!

The Cotswold Chase looks a great race too, and I wouldn’t narrow it down to just Protektorat or Noble Yeats. Both of those have very solid claims, but I think Ruth Jefferson’s Sounds Russian looks a good, improving horse, while we know Ahoy Senor can be dangerous on his day too.

Donald [McCain] sends one down to Cheltenham in the shape of Barrichello. He’s in good form at home, he’s got a nice racing weight, and Peter [Kavanagh] takes off a useful 5lbs, so I’d expect him to be bang there.

I’m looking forward to seeing Snow Leopardess in the Cross-Country too. Being owned and bred by the Fox-Pitt family, I think she’ll be brilliant at it. She’s been well-schooled from a very young age, and I can see her taking to it really well.

brian hughes blog i wouldnt swap maximilian for anything novibet(1)

Doncaster, Friday:

Glory Bridge (1:05pm) won a bumper at Sedgefield last March but has been a bit ordinary over hurdles since. Hopefully, he bounces back tomorrow, but novice chasing a bit further down the line will probably see him in a better light.

It’s my first time on Call Me Harry (2:05pm), so I don’t know a huge amount. He’s a two-time bumper winner but, like Glory Bridge, he’s not managed to translate that over hurdles yet.

Mackenberg (3:15pm) is five from five over fences and now faces his toughest task to date.

He’s up against some decent improving novices, notably Saint Segal towards the bottom of the weights, and some more proven horses like Malystic. It’s a pretty deep race and my lad will have to take another step forward, but he deserves to take his chance and he’s probably my strongest chance of a winner on the day.

Macavity (3:45pm) is another I haven’t ridden before. He won a good point-to-point race at Aintree and has run with plenty of credit in his last two starts, so fingers crossed he’s going the right way.

Patient Dream (4:20pm) is well at home, but he needs to settle better in his races. This is a big 18-runner field, so hopefully that will help.

There are a couple in there who look like they could be dangerously well-handicapped, so it’s hard to be too confident.

brian hughes blog i wouldnt swap maximilian for anything novibet(2)

Doncaster, Saturday:

My Saturday rides are probably a bit stronger than Friday’s.

Headscarf Lil (12:20pm) kicks things off.

Sean’s [Quinlan] down at Cheltenham, so I’m riding her for the first time. She ran an eye-catching second last time back in November, has had a nice break since, and will hopefully go well.

I’ve picked up a ride for Nick Kent in the shape of Gilbertina (12:55pm). She was a winner of her last start at Market Rasen and is a winner at Doncaster too, so you’d have to think she has a nice each-way chance.

Since Day One (1:35pm) is back up against Tommy’s Oscar, but we don’t get any weight this time. We were getting 19lbs the last day, so obviously things are going to be much tougher, but he’s a horse heading in the right direction.

He’s got the sort of rating now where you’ve got to dip your toe in these waters. There aren’t too many options, and though this is a big step up, the track and trip should be fine for him.

Boothill is a good horse too, but has to carry a penalty.

I ride Martello Sky (2:05pm) for Lucy Wadham, who’s given me some nice rides in the past. She’s a good mare with solid form at a high level and she’s been running well lately too.

The problem is, we’ve all got to take on Epatante. If there are any chinks in her armour, we’ll be there to capitalise on it, but it looks tough on paper.

Martello Sky stays further than this, so we’ll be sure to make it a good test.

I wouldn’t swap Maximilian (2:40pm) for anything in the race. He didn’t give his true running at Sandown the last day, where he lost a shoe.

We’re confident that the step back up the three miles at Doncaster will see him in a better light. He’s the one I’m most looking forward to this weekend.

Cloth Cap (3:15pm) is a nice ride to get in the big handicap chase. He’s not getting any younger, but if he shows some of his old sparkle then he’s well-handicapped to be competitive.

Ga Law will have his followers, but it won’t be easy off top-weight.

Tim Pat (3:50pm) has been working well all week. He came back from Ayr a bit sore in his back, so I think you can ignore that last run. He’s fit and well know, so I’d say he’s got a good each-way chance.

The saddle slipped on Dino Bellagio (4:25pm) after just a furlong at Cheltenham the last day, so that was frustrating. He was a good winner first time out, and he’s one of the juveniles that Donald’s always rated at home.

Fingers crossed he can show us what he can do on the track.

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