Marten Julian’s Weekly Roundup 28 October 2024

After seeing Designer finish last in the 5f sprint handicap at Doncaster on Saturday, I was pleased when my day’s other selection Hotazhell just got the better of Delacroix in the Futurity Trophy.

I had taken the view beforehand that the race was likely to prove more a test of stamina and resolution in the easy ground than speed, and that Jessica Harrington’s son of Too Darn Hot had displayed those attributes when winning the Tyros Stakes at Leopardstown in July and the Beresford Stakes at the Curragh in September.

His rating of 107 left him 7lbs below Wimbledon Hawkeye and 3lbs below Delacroix, but his experience and battling qualities stood him in good stead and after a tussle with the favourite in the final furlong he prevailed by a nose.

He had beaten Tennessee Stud by three-quarters of a length at the Curragh and that son of Wootton Bassett gave the form a significant boost when beating Green Storm in the 1m 2f Criterium de Saint-Cloud on Sunday.

Hotazhell is very much a galloper rather than a colt with gears, but his pedigree points to his being suited to trips up to a mile and a quarter rather than a mile and a half. He does, though, settle well so I am sure at some point next season connections will give him a try over the longer trip.

The record crowds for Cheltenham’s two-day meeting were treated to sizeable and competitive fields, with a couple of impressive performances.

The most notable came from Valgrand in Friday’s Sky Bet Novices’ Hurdle. The five-year-old made all to beat the odds-on Gale Mahler, who had won her previous six races, by 17 lengths eased down.

This victory was hard to foresee on the evidence of his hard-fought successes at Uttoxeter and Bangor and trainer Dan Skelton said afterwards that he would like another race to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. The time of the race was about three seconds faster than Impero took over the same distance later in the day and taken at face value this was a very useful performance.

By contrast Potters Charm is, apparently, not producing the level of performance as befits the high regard in which he is held by the Twiston-Davies family. The five-year-old was certainly impressive to the eye when winning a bumper by 11 lengths at Ffos Las last March but he has been no more than workmanlike in his two runs over hurdles this season, including his defeat of Minella Sixo in the Alastair Down Press Room Novices’ Hurdle on Friday.

Nigel Twiston-Davies said afterwards that they hadn’t had one like this for a while and he admitted that he had expected him to win both his races this season more easily.

With Valgrand and Potters Charm the lesson is that these are still early days.

Talking of the unpredictable nature of this game, I was interested to read Aidan O’Brien’s comments following the victory of Twain in the Group 1 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud on Sunday.

The son of Wootton Bassett had made his debut just a week earlier at Leopardstown, where he started the outsider of the stable’s three representatives at 28/1 but made all to win by six lengths.

After winning in France O’Brien said that the colt had “always been highly rated” in which case it was surprising to see him start at 28/1 on his debut.

There is, though, no doubting the high expectations the Ballydoyle team has for City Of Troy in the Breeders’ Cup Classic this weekend.

It promises to be an enthralling evening’s viewing.

Bye for now

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