Daryl Jacob: Bristol bouncing ahead of Betfair
Daryl Jacob can't wait to ride Bristol De Mai again as he goes for a third Betfair Chase on Saturday, while he reflects on the performance of Footpad at Thurles.
Bristol buzzing ahead of Betfair
It’s so exciting to be getting back aboard Bristol De Mai as he goes for a third consecutive Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday.
I’m delighted we missed Wetherby and have gone straight for this, as he’s fresh and well and 100 per cent, and it’s hard to believe he’s still only an eight-year-old given what he’s achieved.
Hopefully we’ll have him for many more years yet, as I love riding him.
Looking at Saturday’s race, it’s a small field on slightly better ground than you usually get at Haydock, and Lostintranslation is obviously respected on what he’s done at Aintree and Carlisle.
He’s an improver and Frodon is rated just 1lb below Bristol, so, although it’s a small and select field I think it’s a very good race and I don’t think there will be any hiding place.
Ideally the more rain the better, but don’t forget he won on good ground last year when beating Native River and Might Bite, so either way, whatever the weather does, I’m looking forward to it.
Tactically everyone knows his running style, he pops away and now he’s getting older he’s getting easier to ride. He used to be quite free, but now he measures his fences well and I expect him to take all the beating again.
Other Saturday rides
I kick off a big day at Haydock on Saturday by riding Young Lieutenant for Warren Greatrex in the Listed Read Paul Nicholls Exclusively At Betfair Newton Novices' Hurdle.
He finished second to a good horse of Nigel Twiston-Davies’ at Newbury and I was really pleased with my horse, who quickened well, and hopefully he can come on from that experience.
I think he’s a really nice horse and it would be good to get a win on his CV before hopefully going for some of the bigger races next spring.
Echiquier goes for the Betfair Best Odds On ITV Races Stayers' Handicap Hurdle and I reckon he’s at the right end of the handicap for the test.
He came down 3lb after finishing fifth in the Persian War, a race that is working out so well thanks to Thyme Hill and Harambe, and he’s got an each-way chance.
His run at Chepstow came just six days after he won at Hexham and he just felt a bit flat, but 133 looks a nice mark and it’s what attracted us to come here.
Fred a Friday treat at Ascot
I love Fred who goes in the Zeelo 'National Hunt' Maiden Hurdle at Ascot on Friday.
He had a lovely run at Cheltenham for his first run for us, but they didn’t go much of a gallop and it turned into a bit of a sprint from the bottom of the hill.
The step up in trip is a major positive for him, Ascot is ideal, and I’m sure you’ll see him improve again on Friday.
Hopefully he can get a win on the board and we can start dreaming of bigger and better things for him.
Dragon d’Estruval goes in the inthepaddock.co.uk Handicap Chase on the same card and he’d have half a chance as well.
He’s a better chaser than he was a hurdler and he had his wind done before Perth, where I was very happy with his third-place effort.
On that performance he’s got a chance, I think we’ll have a nice winter with him as he doesn’t mind the softer ground.
He’s a grade below top class, but after this he could go for something around the Aintree fences and he could be the ideal type for that test.
We should have plenty of fun with him.
Footpad feels great in Boomerang
I made the trip over to Ireland to ride Footpad in the Boomerang Chase at Thurles on Thursday and he gave me a great feel when winning without breaking sweat.
I thought he put in a very polished display, it was great to see the old Footpad, he jumped fantastic and felt very fresh, it was mission accomplished and nice to see.
Obviously the opposition weren’t Gold Cup class, but the most important thing was to get him back onto the track, we didn’t want to throw him into Grade One company straight away.
He might well go for the King George on his next start, though, as Simon Munir and Isaac Souede and Anthony Bromley say Kempton is an option and it would be great to go for that race.
Wholestone steadily improving
Looking back on last weekend it was great to get another win at Cheltenham with Wholestone who took the mallardjewellers.com Novices’ Chase on Saturday.
It was his fifth win at the track but he made it look hard work up the hill as I got there too soon, it wasn’t one of my finest hours in the saddle, but at least we got away with it.
They didn’t go much of a gallop and he was a bit keen, but the cheekpieces helped him as he actually wanted to go through the gaps, which was a massive positive for him.
I see he’s big prices for the JLT and RSA Chase at Cheltenham but those odds look abouT right for him at the moment – he needs to improve – but the thing about him is that he was a slow burner over hurdles and he’s the same over fences.
It’s going to take time for him to adjust, but I can see him being a lot better at his craft come the spring.