Robbie Power on Laurina, Battleoverdoyen, Ground Conditions & More!

Laurina met just one rival on Saturday, who was rated way inferior to her, so she done no more than expected.

Laurina
The only thing that people can take out of it is that she’s healthy and well and it’ll be all systems go for Cheltenham now. Whether Willie will run her again or not, I’m not so sure. Personally, if she was mine I’d like to see her again before the Festival but Willie will make the right decision by the mare.

There’s a strong possibility that she will go for the Champion Hurdle.

Wouldn’t it be a fascinating and mouth-watering clash is she was to meet Apples Jade in the Mares Hurdle?

Tolworth Hurdle
Elixir Du Nutz will have to come into the reckoning for the Supreme Novices’ at Cheltenham. He’s three from four this season and it was nice to see him winning at Sandown on ground he hasn’t encountered yet this year. To go out and do what he did on Saturday on very soft ground was quite interesting as…

he showed a quality that’s very much needed for a race like the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

He’s tough and he battled back very well so, at the moment, he’d have to be on a lot of people’s shortlists for that race.

Naas on Sunday
I made the running with Magnium in the Lawlor’s Hurdle. We made a good even gallop all the way and stepped it up four out. Magnium ran a cracker. I think he’s going to be a horse, when he gets a bit softer ground, that will go very, very close in a big novice hurdle this season. He’s got plenty of ability.

I was very, very impressed with Battleoverdoyen. He really caught my eye when he won a maiden hurdle in Navan. It’s not easy to go from a maiden hurdle to a Grade 1 but he travelled very sweetly through the race.

There’s probably more improvement to come from him.

Valdieu was very impressive in the opener at Naas on Sunday making his hurdling debut. The time of the race was very good as well – 3 minutes 49 for a maiden hurdle is very quick around Naas. It’ll be exciting to see where he goes next. He’s a horse that could have a bright future as a novice hurdler this season.

Articulum, who won the 1.20, is a very, very good horse. He was a decent novice hurdler last season and had a good start to his chasing career at Punchestown. You’d have to be very, very impressed with his jumping and he had Campeador well held at the line.

Plumpton
It was quite a good and competitive race at Plumpton that Master Dino won. Knocknanuss and Glenloe were in there so it wasn’t as if he won a non-event. I was keeping a close eye on him, with Lost In Translation going down the JLT route, and they might meet before Cheltenham as well.

Ground Conditions
It’s getting a bit frustrating at this stage.

I’m nearly 20 years riding now and I’ve never known the ground to be this good in January.

There’s one thing we can’t control, though, and that’s the weather so we’re just going to have to be patient. It is Ireland we live in after all so at some stage we are going to get rain!

There are a lot of trainers, like Jessie with Sizing John and Pat Kelly with Presenting Percy, just trying to get runs into them. The clock is ticking though and they’re going to have to run somewhere between now and Cheltenham.

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