National Weights Week

The good form of the stable continued last week with Navanman scoring twice within the space of four days and in the process completing a quick-fire hat-trick with victories at Fakenham and Wetherby, while there were also notable performances from a number others, not least Starchitect who posted an excellent first effort for the stable when runner-up in the Betfair Hurdle on Saturday. With the Cheltenham Festival now only four weeks away it is encouraging to see the horses performing creditably.

Last week started in the best possible fashion with the victory of Navanman in the 2m7½f handicap hurdle at Fakenham on Monday. With him due a 15lbs hike in the weights for his initial success at Towcester, it was an obvious decision to run him again four days later under a penalty although we couldn’t have found a much different track for him than Fakenham! Even so, he is a versatile type and dealt with the different characteristics of the track with the minimum of fuss under Tom Scudamore.

Indeed, such was the manner of victory that I was convinced to turn him out again on Friday at Wetherby when another ideal opportunity presented itself. With Michael Heard claiming 7lbs off his back, he was effectively offsetting the second of his penalties and given a sensible ride under these very testing conditions he was able to see off an in-form rival a shade cosily with a long way back to the third. We will see what the handicapper chooses to do with him now before deciding what to do next. One of his great fortes is his jumping and he will certainly make a nice chaser when the time comes to switch codes.

The Wetherby success of Navanman was a first ride and first win for Michael Heard since returning from the injury he sustained in a horrible fall at Cheltenham back in November. It is good to have Michael back in the yard and in the winners’ enclosure and this being his 20th career success means that his claim is reduced from 7lbs to 5lbs. He remains good value for that weight allowance and hopefully he will continue to get plenty of opportunities, not just for me but outside stables as well.

There were a number of other notable performances on the week including Ikrapol who finished runner-up at Wetherby on Friday. He looks as though he will be worth trying on a right-handed track, while Saint John Henry was only narrowly beaten at Warwick and will hopefully be going one better before too long. Meanwhile Starchitect ran an absolute cracker on his first start for the stable when finishing second in the Betfair Hurdle on Saturday. A bad mistake at the last certainly didn’t do him any favours and he would have finished significantly closer but for that. He will certainly be entered in some of the big handicap hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival including the County Hurdle and it is not difficult to imagine him performing well in a big field where there is a strong pace.

Looking to the week ahead we will not have any runners tomorrow, although we are likely to be making the long trip north midweek as Impulsive American is an intended runner at Musselburgh on Wednesday and Soll will run in the Ivan Straker Memorial Chase at Kelso on Thursday. I hope to run Dynaste in the Grade One Betfair Ascot Steeplechase at the Berkshire course on Saturday, while Broadway Buffalo and Vieux Lion Rouge are possibles for Haydock’s Grand National Trial on the same afternoon. We have plenty of other entries during the course of the week and for the latest news on those, you can keep up to date with Chester’s Daily Chat.

Finally, tomorrow (Tuesday) I head off to London for the announcement of the Grand National weights. It is an occasion I always look forward to – not only is a chance to get the first glimpse of the handicap for the world’s most famous race; it also affords the opportunity to catch up with some old faces. Sponsors Crabbies have done a wonderful job promoting the race and I must admit having held the weights launch at the legendary Abbey Road Studios last year where the Beatles recorded some of their most famous material, I feared they would struggle to surpass it. I should have known better as this year’s event is due to be held at the spectacular Skygarden which offers unparalleled views across London and I am certainly looking forward to paying a visit.  The 2016 Grand National weights are as follows:

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