Hurricane Pat Sweeps To Sandown Success For In-form Moore Team
Gary and Josh Moore's dream spell at Sandown continued on Saturday when Hurricane Pat played himself into the Cheltenham Festival formula with a facile triumph in the opening Betfair Exchange Claremont Novices' Hurdle.
An outstanding course-and-distance scorer last month, the five-year-old was dispatched 7-2 in the Listed event and with Philip Hobbs and Johnson White's heavy favourite Sober Glory stopping working to live up to his reputation, Hurricane Pat was left to saunter home to a five-and-a-half-length success over Dan Skelton's Cheltenham winner Soldier Reeves.
Josh Moore stated: "He's won really impressively and I was rather positive when we made the entry this was the ideal race on paper.
"It was an excellent race on paper but he did a really great piece of work last week which to bring him here. I was believing he may want additional however the work was with the horse that won here yesterday, Macktoad, and he kind of made me believe 2 miles would be for him.
"We constantly believed he may desire much better ground also, so today was a little a worry but Caoilin (Quinn, jockey) appeared to believe he was better on this ground today.
"He was a great horse last year however he has reinforced up a lot over the summer season and his mind has grown up too, he's taking everything in his stride perfectly. He won his 2 bumpers and we've been extremely patient with him and he's paid his method now over obstacles."
Hurricane Pat impressed at Sandown (John Walton/PA)
Hurricane Pat was introduced into the Supreme Novices' Hurdle market at 25-1 by Paddy Power, with connections entitled to start dreaming of the future.
Moore added: "He's won a Listed race so he's clearly got potential. We'll see how he comes out of today due to the fact that he is a horse we can't over race.
"You have to believe along the lines of the Supreme and whether or not that might be a bit much for him we'll discover out. We can definitely gear towards that all the exact same.
"It's an embarassment the Tolworth isn't here and there is constantly Aintree (Formby Novices' Hurdle). If the Tolworth had actually been here we would definitely be here. He's won that so perfectly though that I would not be in a rush to run once again."
Joe Tizzard's group are likewise in kind 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 verdict in the Betfair Supports Racing With Pride Mares' Handicap Hurdle.
Tizzard stated: "She did it nicely and when the race cut up a bit I did expensive her to go and do that.
"It was excellent and this was the right race today. She will get boosted a couple of (pounds) and after that we'll have an excellent appearance. I was thinking increasing this morning 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 plot a hurdling course with Kikijo after the enhancing 9-4 joint-favourite built on his recent Cheltenham success with a hard-fought success in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle.
Hobbs said: "He's a bit uncommon as with a horse like him you would be considering going novice chasing next year, however he's currently won a chase at Newbury last year so that is not an option.
"I expect having won two difficulty races he will most likely run in another one. It gets harder now certainly and after winning two in a row, it's not too typically they win three. But we might simply have to search for another handicap obstacle someplace on a stiff track with testing room like here.
"We may have blown his mark for the Final however he's just a young horse and might improve. The Pertemps Final wasn't always a plan and there will be a great deal of Irish horses coming by and we may simply need to take what we can.
"For this partnership we rather possibly might run in the Final, but I would not be thinking with the most likely great ground in the spring it would be our main goal - he may run it though, why not."