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 victory in the opening Betfair Exchange Claremont Novices' Hurdle.
An outstanding course-and-distance scorer last month, the was sent out off 7-2 in the Listed occasion and with Philip Hobbs and Johnson White's heavy preferred Sober Glory failing to measure up to his track record, Hurricane Pat was delegated saunter home to a five-and-a-half-length success over Dan Skelton's Cheltenham winner Soldier Reeves.
Josh Moore stated: "He's won extremely remarkably and I was rather confident when we made the entry this was the right race on paper.
"It was an excellent race on paper however he did a really good piece of work last week and that sufficed to bring him here. I was believing he may desire additional however the work was with the horse that won here yesterday, Macktoad, and he sort of made me believe two miles would be for him.
"We constantly believed he might desire much better ground as well, so today was a bit of a worry however Caoilin (Quinn, jockey) seemed to think he was better on this ground today.
"He was a good horse last year however he has enhanced up a lot over the summer and his mind has grown up too, he's taking everything in his stride well. He won his two bumpers and we've been really patient with him and he's paid his method now over difficulties."
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 Noted race so he's undoubtedly 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 need to think along the lines of the Supreme and whether that might be a bit much for him we'll learn. We can definitely gear towards that all the exact same.
"It's a shame the Tolworth isn't here and there is constantly Aintree (Formby Novices' Hurdle). If the Tolworth had actually been here we would certainly be here. He's won that so nicely though that I would not be in a rush to run again."
Joe Tizzard's group are likewise in kind and his hot streak continued when 11-8 favourite Sunset Marquesa constructed on her Exeter go back to record an emphatic six-and-a-half-length verdict in the Betfair Supports Racing With Pride Mares' Handicap Hurdle.
Tizzard said: "She did it perfectly and when the race cut up a bit I did elegant her to go and do that.
"It was impressive and this was the ideal race today. She will get jacked up a couple of (pounds) and after that we'll have a great appearance. I was believing driving up today if she goes and wins how I hope I don't have a plan, however I will in the morning."
Hobbs and White will continue to outline a hurdling course with Kikijo after the improving 9-4 joint-favourite built on his current Cheltenham success with a hard-fought success in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle.
Hobbs said: "He's a bit uncommon similar to a horse like him you would be considering going newbie chasing next year, however he's currently won a chase at Newbury in 2015 so that is not a choice.
"I expect having actually won two obstacle races he will most likely run in another one. It gets more challenging now certainly and after winning two in a row, it's not frequently they win three. But we may just need to search for another handicap hurdle somewhere on a stiff track with testing ground like here.
"We may have blown his mark for the Final but he's only a young horse and could enhance. The Pertemps Final wasn't always a strategy and there will be a lot of Irish horses coming by and we might simply need to take what we can.
"For this partnership we rather possibly could run in the Final, however I would not be believing with the most likely great ground in the spring it would be our primary goal - he might run it however, why not."
