Alex de Who?

18/9/16

This will be the last blog for around ten days as I am away for a week from Wednesday. However, before I leave I will upload Ante-Post Focus, the Tour Championship Golf preview, Ross Miles’ look ahead to NFL Week 3 and Premier League Picks, which would usually be uploaded in the latter half of the week. The next major two events I am covering are the Ryder Cup and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe card at the back end of next week.

I have yet to see the race but it was nice to read that Brando won the Ayr Gold Cup at 11/1 having been in the Horses to Follow list since the Wokingham. Talking of horses to follow, like for the last two years I will compile a list of ten horses I want to keep on the right side for the jumps season which will be uploaded next month. I pretty much know eight of them.

My thanks to Alan Potts for notifying me of the run of Alex De Larredya last week who bolted up in a Grade 3 over hurdles at Auteuil giving weight away all round who I otherwise would have missed. Alex de Who? Well, he was second in the French Champion Hurdle behind Ptit Zig finishing just ahead of Blue Dragon with Aubusson in fourth and Un De Sceaux a non-staying sixth. The interesting point about him is that he is owned by Simon Munir so you would have to think that there is every chance he could soon be with Nicky Henderson or Willie Mullins or another of his trainers given the quality of form he has shown so far. Alan tells me that his current French rating of a stratospheric 800 equates to as high as 176 in Britain if you can believe that. Big Buck’s and Thistlecrack were never higher than 174. The French Champion Hurdle takes place over 3m1f so could he be a dark one already for something like the World Hurdle? I am pleased to say that Alan will be continuing with his copy on French jumping imports for the upcoming season as part of The All-Inclusive Service.

I mentioned a couple of blogs back to look out for the Gigginstown horses in the Kerry National and up popped Wrath Of Titans. Picking the right one is often the problem with this particular owner and Bryan Cooper failed to do so again having selected Folsom Blue who was sent off favourite and pulled up. Last year’s Gigginstown-owned winner and third won the Irish Grand National and the Aintree Grand National later in the season so it will be interesting to see how far Wrath Of Titans can go.

Right, I am back to bed, see if I can shift these flu-type symptoms before I head off to sunnier climes and be alive for the NFL coverage which Ross previewed for us earlier in the week.