On
face value, the run of Logician at England’s Sandown Park on February 3rd, could only
be looked upon, at best, as a fair effort.
But following a discussion with trainer Tony
Noonan, connections gained nothing but encouragement from their horses debut outing on
English soil and are still focusing their attention on the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup next
month.
Noonan was not surprised to hear the horse
made a few mistakes at his first jumping assignment in 6 months, having had his schooling
work limited due to the appalling conditions being currently experienced there.
"He apparently put in a couple of sticky
ones, but that was understandable given the circumstances and aside from that I was very
happy" Noonan said. He will be able to gauge the extent of his happiness with more
clarity following a video inspection of the race, which will enable him to analyse where
the improvement needs to be made to become a competitive force at the Cheltenham Festival.
But according to Noonan, there is plenty of
improvement in Logician and the opportunity to make it will present itself this weekend at
the majestic Ascot course, where he will compete in the Shenley Enterprises Novices Chase
over approximately 3900 metres.
A satisfactory display at the 290 year old
course founded by Queen Anne will guarantee a continued assault on one of the world’s
toughest steeplechase events.
Logician’s result will be a part of a
feast of activity on the site over the next few days, with an update on the progress of
Marlborough towards the Nakayama Grand Jump in April, whilst previews and reviews of
Friday’s hurdle at Mornington and Saturday’s event at Bendigo will keep you up
to date with all the local action.
So if you can’t make it to the track,
there’s only one thing to do.......
GO JUMP !!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
