HARRY WHITTINGTON BLOG: Harry Whittington, Grade One-winning trainer and ambassador for market-leading betting exchange BETDAQ, announces that stable star Saint Calvados will run in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown this Saturday.
Saint Calvados heading to Leopardstown
We’ve decided to take our chances and run Saint Calvados in the Grade One Dublin Chase (1.25pm) at Leopardstown on Saturday.
It’s obviously going to be a very tough test going over there, but we think the track and ground will really suit him. The ground should be similar to what it was like at Naas and we saw how well he performed there, so we’re looking forward to running him again.
He’s done really well since the Tingle Creek and being just a six-year-old, there’s so much more to come from him. He’s a big, rangy horse with loads of scope to improve, and he’ll need to in this calibre of race, but his work since Sandown has been fantastic, so fingers crossed he puts in a big performance.
Having watched the race back, I don’t think he wants bottomless ground – he struggled a bit on the hurdles course down the far side and it was only when he got back on the better ground of the chase course that he picked up again.
It’s going to be very special to be part of the Dublin Racing Festival, it’s gaining more exposure each year, so to have a horse running in it is a real thrill. To have a horse of Saint Calvados’ quality is amazing for the whole yard, not just me. The team work so hard and they deserve to have a horse like this – we are very lucky.
His owners Kate and Andrew Brooks are equally deserving. They have put so much into racing over the years, so it’s really special for them to have a horse like Saint Calvados running in festivals like this one.
Weekend Runners
It’s looking like a pretty busy weekend for us, with plenty entered.
Bigmartre has a few entries over the next few days. At the moment, I’d be siding with The Dick Hunt Trophy (3.30pm) at Wincanton, but I’m yet to make a final decision. He enjoyed a very good novice season, but he’s slightly paying the price for that this year as he has found it quite tough off his mark running against the older horses.
He’s in very good form at home and I’m hopeful 2m4f around Wincanton will suit him well.
Anemoi is entered in both the Scottish County Hurdle (2.05pm) on Saturday and the Supreme Trial (2.05pm) on Sunday.
He simply didn’t stay at Cheltenham last time, so we’re back down to two miles this time and that should really play to his strengths. Cheltenham should have taught him plenty as he’s got plenty of learning to do still, but we think a lot of him and I’m hopeful there’s a fair bit more to come.
The form of his win at Ascot earlier in the season was franked with Pym coming out and winning on Monday, so we’re hoping he runs a big race in whichever one we choose.
