ITV Can’t Please Everyone And Will Only Improve

We had a good weekend with winners on both Irish cards at Cork on Saturday and Naas on Sunday.

Winners
West Coast Time surprised us with how easily he won the bumper at Cork. He travelled into the race easily and when Patrick Mullins asked him to quicken, he went away and did it impressively. I think he’ll improve for the run – he was possibly a bit fitter than we thought.

I know BoyleSports introduced him into the Cheltenham bumper market but I’m not keen to commit to it. We’ll try and find a winners race in the next month to six weeks and see where he stands then. His dam, Refinement, was second and fourth in two renewals of the Cheltenham bumper, but

I think he’s a horse with a great future and sometimes Cheltenham can compromise that.

Slowmotion won the beginners’ chase in good style at Naas. They went slow in the race and the loose horse was a hindrance. It was good to see her put in an assured round of jumping following her fall at Wexford earlier in the season.

I was pleased with Le Richebourg in the Naas bumper. There must have been half a dozen horses being talked up before the race and I think the first two could be smart. Jamie Codd wasn’t overly hard on him and he’ll probably go for another four-year-old bumper in a few weeks’ time.

Away from my own horses, the main talking point at Naas was the win of Death Duty – or the fall of Augusta Kate! Augusta Kate was gathering momentum but Death Duty would certainly have galloped to the line. He looks a horse with serious potential and…

whatever novice hurdle Gordon Elliott opts for at Cheltenham, he’ll take all the beating.

ITV
Everyone seems to have an opinion on ITV Racing – I’ve been impressed. Oli Bell and the crew visited me before Christmas and the reaction to the piece was positive. It’s good to see them focusing on what goes on behind the scenes in a racing yard.

It’s hard to please everyone, but it can only improve on what we’ve seen so far. It definitely got the thumbs up from me.