"I’VE DEFINTELY RIDDEN WORSE 25-1 SHOTS THAN HER"

It’s a fairly quiet weekend for me by usual standards, as I was due to ride at Bangor-on-Dee on Friday, but sadly that fell victim to the weather, and with Carlisle now abandoned on Sunday, I just have the two rides at Cheltenham on Saturday.

It is frustrating to lose meetings at this time of year, especially when you have a nice book of rides to look forward to, but hopefully Cheltenham can survive the frost, and we’ll have a good days racing to enjoy.

Saturday

3.00 Cheltenham – Thomas Mor

I don’t know what he beat the last day at Wincanton, but he could hardly have been more impressive, and he’s taken to hurdling very well. He’s the type of horse that keeps on surprising you. Every time I sit on him, whether it’s on the track or at home, he feels like he’s improved.

He deserves this step up in class, and although this race clearly demands a lot more, we’ve been very pleased with his work at home, so hopefully he can go well. Although he won over shorter last time, I do think the further he goes the better he’ll be, so I certainly see him as a three-miler at this stage.

We’ll see how this race goes, but his point-to-point form would suggest that better ground would suit him, so if he runs well this weekend, then he could be a horse we can really look forward to for those big races in the spring.

3.35 Cheltenham - Branson Missouri

She’s been in excellent form lately, but she just bumped into a nice horse of Ben Pauling’s when second at Lingfield last time. Even from out of the handicap, if the ground was soft, I’d have given her a big chance here, but I suspect the ground just might just be on the quick side for her. Having said that, I think this stiff 2m 4f will really suit her, and I’ve definitely ridden worse 25-1 shots than her, so she could have an each-way chance.

Four to follow for the festive period

Gericault Roque

He ran a cracking race when third in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury a few weeks ago, and as far as I’m aware, he’s heading to the Coral Welsh National at Chepstow on the 27th December.

I’ve always seen him as a ‘‘national’’ horse, although which national I’m not quite sure. He ran well at Warwick last year when second over a similar distance to this, and he galloped through the line at Newbury last time, so I think this sort of trip suits him. Hopefully he’ll run well as he definitely deserves to win a big race like this.

Remastered

We couldn’t talk about Gericault Roque without giving a mention to how well Remastered ran in the Coral Gold Cup. He’s not been entered in the Welsh National, but he was second in the Peter Marsh at Haydock last year, so I’d suspect something like that would be his target over the festive period, and he should remain very competitive in those staying handicap chases.

Panic Attack

She won very nicely in a small-field at Huntingdon last month, and she’ll probably go for the Listed Mares’ Chase at Newbury next Wednesday. She’s taken to chasing very well, and she still feels like she’s improving, so she’ll remain competitive in these Mares’ races, and I’m looking forward to riding her.

Eden Du Houx

He’s a horse we had high hopes for a few seasons ago, but things didn’t quite go to plan for him at that stage. He won very nicely at Ffos Las last month, and he’s looking like he’s now stepping up to be the horse we hoped he would be. He has plenty of options over the festive period, so although he doesn’t yet have a set target, I’d certainly advise keeping an eye out for him.

Tom Scudamore, Coral Racing Ambassador