Speaking exclusively to his yard sponsor OLBG, National Hunt Trainer Harry Derham reveals the upcoming targets and plans for Mossy Fen Road, Pyffo, Queens Gamble, Givemefive, Washington, Brentford Hope, Korkoran, Jackie Hobbs and Jus De Citron, along with any Cheltenham updates.
- Mossy Fen Road has his eyes on Cheltenham
- Pyffo’s looking forward to the Pertemps at Cheltenham
- Cheltenham is still in sight for Queen Gamble
- The William Hill hurdle at Newbury is ‘going to be an exceedingly hot race’ and with Washingtons preperation he ‘could run a huge race’.
- Jackie Hobbs has her sights set on Ascot next weekend and the ‘dream is Aintree in the spring’
- Brentford Hope is ready for the Kingwell Hurdle, which has been his main objective this season
Q: Two winners for the team on the weekend (1st – 2nd February). Mossy Fen Road looks to be a very exciting bumper horse for you, a horse you’ve always held in high regard: were you expecting him to run that well at Wetherby on Sunday?
HD: “It wasn’t a surprise, his work had been very, very good. “He’s been quite a stressful horse this season, we went to Hereford in a novice hurdle at the end of November, he was ready to start, looked great, and schooled very well, (hence we were going to go hurdling) and literally in the pre-parade ring, he got colic.
“He was at Three Counties Equine Hospital for a night after that, so we just said, ‘give him a bit of time’.“He got himself in an awful dither that day (I don’t know why), but we’ve just given him a chance, let him mature a little bit, and decided we’d just hurdle into next season.
“Like I said, I basically told Johnny, if he switches off, he could win the length of the straight.
“Just get him switched off because he’s a little bit competitive, and he gets himself quite up for it and that’s why I think he gets stressed out.
“However, it was a good performance – it’s hard to know what kind of race it was.
“Olly’s horse in second looks nice, but behind that, there wasn’t much, he couldn’t have done any more than he did. “I think we’ll probably go to Cheltenham with him [Mossy Fen Road].
“I was talking to Ian Barratt on Saturday night about it, he could go for a normal bumper again and carry a penalty, but I’m not sure he’ll achieve much by doing that.
“We’re going to go hurdling at the start of November, end of October, anyway with him regardless, so we’ll probably go there if he’s okay, if he comes out of it well in the next three weeks and he’s in good form and he improves for that run, then we might let him take his chance”.
Q: It’s always a great experience running in that bumper, isn’t it?
HD: “This year, David Pipe’s horse was very good at Ascot, but there’s not been a Facile Vega; it’s not like the DRF, the mare was very good but I didn’t think the gelding’s race was amazing.
“I’m sure it will be a very good race. “I’m not saying we’re going to win, but I think he’s a runner.“He’s more than good enough to go and take his chance”.
Q: Pyffo won as well on the weekend (1st – 2nd February), he’s been a pretty ultra-consistent horse since he’s joined your yard. He was running in a Pertemps qualifier race, does that mean you’re now looking forward to the Pertemps at Cheltenham?
HD: “It does, I was sending him up there thinking we’ve got a really good place prospect.
“I thought it was a tough little race, but the form of his race at Doncaster worked out well with Jamie Snowden’s horse winning at Huntingdon in another Pertemps qualifier.
“So we went there thinking he could run well, I didn’t think he would quite do that, but I’ve got to say he’s not an over big horse, he doesn’t jump particularly well, but he really keeps going and he was very tough.
“Cheltenham will be an altogether different story, but he gets a run because he’s won one of those qualifiers.
“‘Why not? You’re getting to the stage of the season where you want to go and have a run at those bigger races.
“He’s a tough horse, he won’t care about 25 runners, he just does his own thing, so yeah we’ll go.
“Andy Ralph, his owner, sent him to me late in the summer, so it’s great to have a nice winner for him”.
Q: A quick line on Queen’s Gamble who ran at the DRF. I thought she ran a mighty race, probably didn’t get the rub of the green in that race, but she looked to have really put a great foot forward. I heard reports afterwards that she had a swollen knee?
HD “Yeah, she’s fine, she’s a bit battered and bruised.
“A 20-runner field in the DRF, she was never going to have a smooth time, was she?
“She ran very well and the ground probably just went soft enough for her.
“As you said, it was a bit rough, but I felt it was a very good effort and I was proud of her effort.
“She gave all the horses that beat her over a stone in weight, it’s a lot of weight and she was never nearer than at the line, she stayed very well.
Q: Is Cheltenham still in your sights for her?
HD: “Yeah, it is. She’s obviously in the Mare’s Hurdle, and she will be in the Coral Cup as well.“We will see what her owners would like to do”.
Q: The William Hill Hurdle is the feature race of the day at Newbury and you’ve got two left in it, Washington and Givemefive. Let’s start with Washington, he gave you your biggest career win over at Fairyhouse in December, he went up 11 pounds for that run and is now 133 – Is that a workable mark for the weekend?
HD: “Well, I think he’s capable off that mark. “This is going to be an exceedingly hot race, isn’t it? “There are some really top two-mile handicappers in it.
“Their form ties in with one another.
“We’re coming over from Ireland.
“I’m very, very pleased with Washington, he’s in extremely good condition.
“I hope the ground continues to dry out as the less soft it is for him, the better.
“I’m not saying he’s going to win, but he could run a huge race, he’s very, very well and he’s had a very good prep.
“I know he’s nine, but he seems in good shape at the moment, he’s training well, he’s off the back of two wins, which is great for his confidence.
“We’ve trained him specifically for this race since Fairyhouse, so he’s very fresh.
“I think he’s going to probably be a handful for Paul, but I think he goes there with a cracking each-way chance. “I’m under no illusions how tough the race is going to be.
“You could run a career-best and finish fifth, but at this stage, I’m very happy with his preparation and really looking forward to it”.
Q: Lets move onto Givemefive, what are your thoughts?
HD: “Givemefive will also run.
“Since Cheltenham in October, we were thinking about this race, he was obviously bitterly disappointing at Windsor last time out, but just because a horse has a bad day doesn’t mean you should completely change your plans, sometimes they just do.
“Givemefive had a bad day, he jumped very badly, I think his first run in a handicap worried him a bit.
“I’ve actually worked him in a pair of blinkers, mainly because in his last race, he was jumping far too slowly, and in a handicap hurdle, you just can’t do that.
“So I’ve schooled him in blinkers and worked him, and he seems a little bit sharper in them.
“He’s going to be a big each-way price, on his best form, he has an each-way chance in the race, so we’re going to let him take his chance, and we’ve got Harry Cobden on board, with Paul on Washington.
Q: Washingtons owners, Tim Syder and Dominic Burke, are heavily involved in Newbury, they must be highly excited to have a really exciting prospect in one of their biggest races of the season at Newbury?
HD: “Yeah, they are, and since Fairyhouse, they sort of said, ‘do you think going to Newbury in February would be a good option?,’ I said, ‘sure, why not?’
“You know, he’s won a massive race for us, he could go there with a decent chance.
“We’ve trained him for that race, and I know they are very excited. As you say, they’re heavily involved in Newbury, it’s a track very close to their heart, it’s very close to their homes.
“So yeah, hopefully he can go and do them proud”.
Q: Jus De Citron, who has an Albert Bartlett entry, and when we last spoke to you, you weren’t expecting him to run as well as he did the last day. Is this almost a prep for Cheltenham, or will it tell you more?
HD: “It will tell us more, Cheltenham is very much a tentative entry at this stage.
“It was, because as I think I’ve said before, the entries are so far away from the race, if you went and won a novice hurdle really well again and you weren’t entered, you’d be like, well, we probably should have done.
“I suspect that Cheltenham at this stage in his life is too soon, and he’s not quite up to that at the moment.
“I might well be wrong, he proved me wrong, I thought he’d finish third or fourth at Doncaster, run very well, and improve, but he obviously came through that race well.
“I’m going to run him at Kempton on Friday, Drier ground will suit him, he’s got a lovely big action, but Paul just said at Doncaster he loved that bit of nice ground.
“So we’re going to run him.
“He’s obviously got to carry a penalty, that will make life a bit more difficult, but he is basically a horse I cannot wait to chase with because he’s a lovely jumper.
“I want to run him a good bit more this season if I can, but I’m looking forward to him getting out there, I think this race will tell us more about him.
Q: Korkoran is also entered on Sunday, a horse that you’ve been really excited to get on the track. You’ve always held him in high regard, but it’s been a bit of a slower process with him. You’ve always said he’s just taken a bit of time and you’re also looking forward to getting him out on Sunday?
HD: “Very much, he, in my mind, is a horse for two years’ time really, big, beautiful horse, lots of class, great step to him.
“He’s not really a bumper horse, but I didn’t want to go hurdling this season because I think he’s still got some growing to do.
“I didn’t really want to go hurdling too early, so he’s now ready to start, he’s taking a good bit of getting fit, actually.
“Looks very well now, I think Exeter’s a track that will suit because it’s a galloping track, and it will be about stamina, I think that’s going to be his strong point.
“Very, nice horse, but he’s one like he could finish placed, and I’d be thrilled.
“He’s not a horse really for now, he’s a horse for the future. “Yeah, I’m really looking forward to getting him out there”.
Q: Brentford Hope ran an absolute stormer against the one and only Constitution Hill at Cheltenham on Trials Day, on paper, he’s three lengths behind probably one of the best hurdlers we’ve ever seen, so I bet that was a massive day for you all?
HD: “Yeah, it was really cool.
“At entry stage, I entered him at 11:30 because I was like, well, I can’t beat Constitution Hill, and I can’t beat Lossiemouth, but £16,500 for finishing third, and I could beat the rest.
“So I said that to the guys, and they were a little bit nervous because he was a bit disappointing at Windsor, but I was of the opinion he sulked that day in a big runner field, and he didn’t like it, fine.
“Then Lossiemouth wasn’t declared, all of a sudden, you’re thinking, well, we have a chance of finishing second.
“So I just said to the owners, ‘look, our best possible finishing position is second to him, let’s run the race to suit us’.
“Go a good gallop up the straight, slow them down.“It was fabulous.
“Actually, what an amazing thing to be part of in that winner’s enclosure after Constitution Hill came in. The crowd at Cheltenham really appreciates their horses, and he is obviously one of the modern-day greats, I would suggest.
“Just to be a part of that was a really special thing. So yeah, it was very cool, and my owners really appreciated that”.
“Brentford is very much ready for the Kingwell Hurdle.
“Kingwell has been the big objective this season, it’s shaping up to be a very hot race, but we’re really excited about it.
“I mean, you know, Burdett Road, Golden Ace, Dysart Enos—those types of horses are going there, what a fantastic race it’ll be at Wincanton.“Brentford has never let us down. He always goes and gives his running if he’s good enough—fantastic. If he’s not, he’ll still run a good race. I’d love the ground to be soft for him.
“He’s in very good condition.
“Those couple of races have actually brought him forward, got him a bit competitive again, got him really fit. I’m thoroughly looking forward to it”.
Q: Brilliant. Lastly, is there anything else that we should touch upon for next weekend?
HD: “Jackie Hobbs, next weekend at Ascot in a mares’ bumper. Very excited about her.
“As I said before she ran at Ludlow, she was just ready to start at Ludlow.
“She won, I thought, pretty commandingly, you know, with her ears pricked.
“She’s a well above average mare, I think.“I’m very, very pleased with her work.
“I’m really excited about her getting out there again.
“The dream is Aintree in the spring.
“She’d obviously have to go and run very well at Ascot, which I believe she will.
“Yeah, she’s one to really look forward to. I’ve been excited about her for quite some time, and her work looks good now, so I’m hoping she can go to Ascot next weekend and run very well”.
