Hurricane Pat Sweeps To Sandown Success For In-form Moore Team
Gary and Josh Moore's dream spell at Sandown continued on Saturday when Hurricane Pat played himself into the Cheltenham Festival equation with a facile success in the opening Betfair Exchange Claremont Novices' Hurdle.
A remarkable course-and-distance scorer last month, the five-year-old was dispatched 7-2 in the Listed event and with Philip Hobbs and Johnson White's heavy Glory stopping working to live up to his credibility, Hurricane Pat was delegated saunter home to a five-and-a-half-length success over Dan Skelton's Cheltenham winner Soldier Reeves.
Josh Moore stated: "He's won extremely remarkably and I was quite positive when we made the entry this was the right race on paper.
"It was a great race on paper however he did an extremely good piece of work recently which was enough to bring him here. I was believing he might desire more however the work was with the horse that won here yesterday, Macktoad, and he type of made me think 2 miles would be for him.
"We always thought he might want better ground too, so today was a bit of a worry but Caoilin (Quinn, jockey) appeared to believe he was much better on this ground today.
"He was a great horse last year however he has actually enhanced up a lot over the summertime and his mind has grown up too, he's taking whatever in his stride nicely. He won his two bumpers and we have actually been very patient with him and he's paid his method now over hurdles."
Hurricane Pat impressed at Sandown (John Walton/PA)
Hurricane Pat was introduced into the Supreme Novices' Hurdle market at 25-1 by Paddy Power, with connections entitled to begin dreaming of the future.
Moore included: "He's won a Listed race so he's clearly got capacity. We'll see how he comes out of today due to the fact that he is a horse we can't over race.
"You need to think along the lines of the Supreme and whether or not that may be a bit much for him we'll learn. We can certainly tailor towards that all the exact same.
"It's a shame the Tolworth isn't here and there is always Aintree (Formby Novices' Hurdle). If the Tolworth had been here we would certainly be here. He's won that so well though that I wouldn't remain in a rush to run once again."
Joe Tizzard's group are likewise in type and his hot streak continued when 11-8 favourite Sunset Marquesa constructed on her Exeter return to tape an emphatic six-and-a-half-length verdict in the Betfair Supports Racing With Pride Mares' Handicap Hurdle.
Tizzard said: "She did it nicely and when the race cut up a bit I did fancy her to go and do that.
"It was outstanding and this was the right race today. She will get jacked up a few (pounds) and after that we'll have an excellent look. I was thinking driving up today if she goes and wins how I hope I do not have a plan, but I will in the morning."
Hobbs and White will continue to plot a hurdling course with Kikijo after the enhancing 9-4 joint-favourite constructed on his recent Cheltenham success with a hard-fought triumph in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle.
Hobbs stated: "He's a bit unusual just like a horse like him you would be thinking of going beginner chasing next year, but he's currently won a chase at Newbury in 2015 so that is not an alternative.
"I suppose having won two difficulty races he will most likely run in another one. It gets harder now certainly and after winning 2 in a row, it's not frequently they win three. But we may simply need to look for another handicap difficulty someplace on a stiff track with screening ground like here.
"We might have blown his mark for the Final however he's only a young horse and might improve. The Pertemps Final wasn't necessarily a plan and there will be a great deal of Irish horses coming over and we may simply have to take what we can.
"For this partnership we quite possibly could run in the Final, but I would not be thinking with the most likely great ground in the spring it would be our main objective - he may run it though, why not."