Adrian Keatley is looking ahead to a productive weekend in both codes, with a strong team heading to Market Rasen in particular.
Flying the flag for the North Yorkshire trainer is stable stalwart Kihavah, who has his first run over jumps since winning at the Lincolnshire course last summer.
Having finished down the field at 40/1 in last weekend’s John Smith’s Cup at York, Keatley is expecting a better showing from the seven-year-old in Saturday’s valuable Unibet Daily Industry Best Prices Summer Handicap Hurdle.
Speaking at the launch of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival during Wednesday’s fixture at Thirsk, Keatley said: “Kihavah is a brilliant hurdler - touch wood - he’s as good a hurdler as I’ve ever seen, the way he goes into his hurdles and gets away from the back of them quickly.
“Drying ground would be good for him and I’ve around five going to Market Rasen – I fancy the chances of most of them to be honest.
“Most of them are coming off the back of wins or good runs; Gale Mahler has won four in a row, Kihavah is well, we have Belvedere Blast who won his last run at Hexham. I’ve got Belle Of Annandale who was third on her last run over hurdles, and I’ve got Noble Anthem over fences and he was just beaten at Market Rasen the last day. He’s crying out to jump a fence.
“So hopefully we’ll have a good day on Saturday as we run Do It Now in the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury on Saturday too. He had a little niggly injury after Ripon (May 10) but he was very impressive there.
“I know the form hasn’t worked out great but he’s a very fast horse and a strong horse. I think Saturday could be tailormade for him.”
Looking further ahead, Goodwood and York are on the horizon for Keatley and plans are in place to be well represented at both major meetings this summer.
“I’ve Francisco’s Piece for the Molecomb Stakes,” said the trainer. “It’s the race I’d had in mind for him all winter.
“I’ve put a line through Ascot (well beaten in the Coventry Stakes), I have to really for my own mental health! I’m looking forward to that with him.
“And I’ve got Ballymount Boy who is going for a big handicap down there. It’s the three-year-old only handicap on the Saturday. Bill’s Baar will run at Goodwood too and they’re all horses I’m likely to look at York with too – at the Sky Bet Ebor Festival next month.
“If Kihavah was ever going to have a chance in an Ebor then that was probably last year, he was in such good form, but he’s dropped down now to a mark of 95 and won’t get in that. So he’s going to run over hurdles on Saturday and then there’s a mile and a half handicap at York on the Friday.
“When he was up to 100-odd, the handicapper probably caught up with him then but he’s back down a bit and maybe with a good claimer on he’ll have a chance of getting his head in front again on the Flat too.
“Bear Kode is probably one who we’ll wait with, he’ll go to the big sales race at York and was second first time out at Carlisle. We’ve another two-year-old called Symbol Of Strength who is in the Gimcrack and we’re hoping to go to Haydock with him and have a prep at the Sky Bet Sunday Series meeting (August 4).
“York is a huge meeting and one we always work back from, we came close last year and had the second in the Acomb (Ballymount Boy), and it’s a big part of our plans.”
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