Hurricane Pat Sweeps To Sandown Success For In-form Moore Team
Gary and Josh Moore's dream spell at Sandown continued Saturday when Hurricane Pat played himself into the Cheltenham Festival equation with a facile victory in the opening Betfair Exchange Claremont Novices' Hurdle.
An excellent course-and-distance scorer last month, the five-year-old was sent out off 7-2 in the Listed event and with Philip Hobbs and Johnson White's heavy favourite Sober Glory stopping working to measure up to his credibility, Hurricane Pat was delegated roam home to a five-and-a-half-length success over Dan Skelton's Cheltenham winner Soldier Reeves.
said: "He's won very impressively and I was rather confident when we made the entry this was the ideal race on paper.
"It was a great race on paper but he did an extremely great piece of work recently which was enough to bring him here. I was believing he might want more however the work was with the horse that won here the other day, Macktoad, and he kind of made me think 2 miles would be for him.
"We constantly thought he might want much better ground as well, so today was a little a worry however Caoilin (Quinn, jockey) appeared to think he was much better on this ground today.
"He was a great horse last year but he has reinforced up a lot over the summer and his mind has matured too, he's taking everything in his stride nicely. He won his two bumpers and we've 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 presented into the Supreme Novices' Hurdle market at 25-1 by Paddy Power, with connections entitled to start imagining the future.
Moore included: "He's won a Listed race so he's clearly got capacity. We'll see how he comes out these days because he is a horse we can't over race.
"You have to believe along the lines of the Supreme and whether that might be a bit much for him we'll discover out. We can definitely tailor towards that all the same.
"It's a pity the Tolworth isn't here and there is constantly Aintree (Formby Novices' Hurdle). If the Tolworth had been here we would definitely be here. He's won that so nicely though that I wouldn't be in a rush to run once again."
Joe Tizzard's team are also in type and his hot streak continued when 11-8 preferred Sunset Marquesa constructed on her Exeter go back to tape an emphatic six-and-a-half-length decision in the Betfair Supports Racing With Pride Mares' Handicap Hurdle.
Tizzard said: "She did it perfectly and when the race cut up a bit I did fancy her to go and do that.
"It was remarkable and this was the right race today. She will get boosted a few (pounds) and then we'll have an excellent look. I was thinking increasing today if she goes and wins how I hope I don't have a strategy, but I will in the early morning."
Hobbs and White will continue to outline a hurdling course with Kikijo after the enhancing 9-4 joint-favourite constructed on his current Cheltenham success with a hard-fought victory in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle.
Hobbs stated: "He's a bit unusual just like a horse like him you would be believing of going newbie chasing next year, however he's currently won a chase at Newbury last year so that is not a choice.
"I expect having actually won 2 hurdle races he will most likely run in another one. It gets more difficult now clearly and after winning 2 in a row, it's not frequently they win 3. But we might simply need to look for another handicap obstacle somewhere on a stiff track with testing room like here.
"We might have blown his mark for the Final but he's only a young horse and could improve. The Pertemps Final wasn't always a strategy and there will be a lot of Irish horses coming by and we might just have to take what we can.
"For this collaboration we rather potentially might run in the Final, but I wouldn't be thinking with the likely good ground in the spring it would be our main aim - he may run it though, why not."