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Ben Pauling Stable Tour: 2024/25 Jumps Season Preview
Graham Clark gets the lowdown from Ben Pauling on his team for the new jumps season.
After enduring a rollercoaster of a ride last season, trainer Ben Pauling is excited about the journey his talented team will take him on this campaign.
Grade Two wins for Diva Luna, Henry’s Friend and Personal Ambition, along with Cheltenham Festival glory for Shakem Up’arry in the Trustatrader Plate Handicap Chase, ensured there was plenty for Pauling, and his team, to celebrate.
And despite being rocked late on in the campaign that owners Andrew and Jane Megson would be removing all their horses from his care with immediate effect it failed to prevent Pauling from smashing through the £1 million barrier in prize money for the first time.
With several new owners on board, including former Top Gear presenter, and current host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Jeremy Clarkson, alongside a crop of exciting horses it is easy to envisage Pauling going above and beyond last season’s achievements.
Pauling said: “From a quality perspective it was much better than the season before. We were four winners of our best total of 80 from the season before, but we broke the million pound barrier in prize money domestically for the first time.
“We are building a nice bunch of horses and it is exciting times. We lost a few last season and I know within that group of horses there were some very nice ones.
“But, they didn’t feature in any of our Listed or Graded race winners last season. I’m sure they will become good horses, but they have got to do it on the track.
“Our strength is that we keep buying nice bumper horses and they seem to keep making into proper horses which is giving us a chance in the bigger meetings against the opposition.
“We don’t worry about what we had and we look forward to the future.”
“He was the surprise package of the season as he was as slow as a hearse when we got him. He was second in a bumper, then he won a bumper, but he was still fairly slow.
“He looks stronger this season and he has got a great attitude to life.
“I was delighted with him at Kempton on Monday as he wants softer ground. When he gets that sort of ground he will get his head in front. He took a blow on Monday and he will improve for the run.
“Califet En Vol is probably quite smart and we are unlikely to come up against something like that again. He is a proper EBF Final type and we will be looking to get him qualified for that.”
“I have a difference of opinion to everyone else. I don’t think a horse jumps the last two, like he did at Ascot, unless it wants to win. His jumping was unbelievable.
“I think that he has one run. Kielan (Woods) just used a bit earlier up the straight and that just allowed Bhaloo, who likes a good scrap, to get back at him.
“The plan is to go back to Ascot for the novice handicap chase or the 0-145 handicap chase that I have won with Your Darling for the past two years.
“I’m very sweet on him and he has come out of the race very well. I think he showed a better attitude last time than he has ever shown. This horse is yet to win in nine starts for us, but he could have easily won four or five of those races."
“I was really pleased with him at Newbury. I think he had stopped believing in himself. That win would have helped him no end and Ben (Jones) gave him a lovely ride.
“He jumped like a buck after nearly falling at Cheltenham which was good. I think the race will work out well as Kim Bailey’s horse was strongly fancied.
“He is entered in the Becher Chase up at Aintree, but we might just stick to novice handicap chases for the time being. He is tailor made for the National Hunt Chase in March. He could give us a lot of fun this season.”
“He is not the biggest, however he would jump a fence, but he is not one that I think will improve a stone for a fence. I think he could improve a stone over hurdles and I think the staying hurdle division is weak.
“The plan is to go for the intermediate handicap hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday. Hopefully he will give us some indication as to which way he is going.
“I would hope he will run a big race and he should make into a proper staying hurdler this season. He could be very good I think.
“He needs to be winning two proper handicaps, and coming there looking like he has plenty to do, but winning by a few lengths without having to try too hard. If he is not up to that then he could be a Pertemps horse or a Coral Cup horse.”
“He ran a nice race at Sandown on Sunday. He will improve again and he will continue over two miles for now. He will want further. He is a classy horse that seems to know where his feet are at the hurdles as he is very efficient over them. I was very pleased with him.
“I’d say we ran into a good one in Anno Power at Sandown, but we were only beaten a length and a half. There is a lot of improvement in him.
“He is a heavy horse and he would have needed that so I was pleased. I think he could be an EBF Final type of horse.”
“He seems to either win or pull up. He is very prone to catching an infection, but he should make a good chaser.
“He took a right old blow up at Aintree on his comeback and the plan is to run this weekend at either Wetherby or Newcastle. You should see a different horse on his next start.
“I was very happy with his jumping on the whole and I think he is going the right way.
“You would like to think he could be a horse that could feature in the new two and a half mile novices’ handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival if things go right.”
“She had a lovely education with Aidan Fitzgerald in Ireland and then came over here. We ran her in the Listed bumper at Market Rasen and she duly won that. She then went and won the Grade Two mares’ bumper at Aintree as she liked really.
“She is a very straightforward mare who jumps for fun. She wasn’t quite right two weeks ago when we were going to run her as her tract wash wasn’t right.
“However, there are no problems now and we will now step up her work. She will either go straight to the Listed mares’ novices’ hurdle at Newbury or we will start her off in a slightly smaller novice hurdle.
“I think she has got everything you need to handle the undulations of Cheltenham later in the season. She is balanced, and she travels well, and is a very straightforward individual.
“She could go for the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival or she could take on the boys in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle if all goes well.
“It might be a different thing come March if we are a short price for the Dawn Run, but 20/1 for the Supreme, however there is nothing about her that makes me think she couldn’t take the geldings on.”
“I trained him for the Grade Two Aintree bumper at the end of the season, but I felt he had just done enough. After his run at Ascot he came back with a dirty scope, but his other two races he won nicely.
“His wind wasn’t great when he came back in so he has had his wind tightened up and he is just a little bit behind with things. He will be more of a horse we see out at Christmas time.
“If his wind works there is no reason he couldn’t be at the same level of some of the other good novice hurdlers we have. He is very much a two and a half miler.
“He will win his novice hurdles, but when you do a wind operation on a top class horse you want to see it work before you get too excited.
“Once we get going with him I won’t be avoiding any races. I hope he could be part of our Cheltenham Festival team as he has the ability to be part of it.”
“It has been frustrating so far with him this season. He is still in the Greatwood Hurdle, but if he doesn’t go there he will go for the Gerry Feilden at Newbury.
“He needs dropping out as he is just too keen. He is like a bull in the china shop. He needs to be ridden cold again and reset.
“If we run him in the Greatwood going from last to first won’t be easy, but at the same time if they go a good gallop it will suit. If we run him in that we will ride him for a bit of luck and hope he settles.
“He needs a good gallop and it is a nightmare if they don’t go a good gallop. They went no gallop at Ascot and he was too keen, but he was still in there, before he fell, which was amazing really."
“He ran a beautiful race up at Aintree. He was a bit novicey in a place or two and he will appreciate a bit softer ground. Kielan Woods was very taken by him.
“He said had he not tried to beat the winner he would have been a good second, but he just blew up after the last.
“We think plenty of him and he is another horse that I think is an EBF Final type. He might be a bit better than that, but I don’t know.
“He missed the second last at Aintree and if he had jumped that well he would have landed two lengths clear so that interrupted his momentum, but he was very good. That was a proper run.”
“We only inherited him in the spring and we ran him in a bumper at Fontwell in May and he won it nicely. He has come back in and done seriously well as he has really come forward.
“The plan with him now will be to go novice hurdling. He will race over either two, or two and a half miles this season.”
“He is a gorgeous individual that was a bit weak last season, but he looks like a bull now. He has done seriously well.
“It was a tall order with Soul Icon going a million miles an hour out in front on quick ground in the Rising Stars Novices’ Chase at Wincanton. The fact that he was still there at three out with every chance was a big tick in the box.
“Unfortunately it was just a novicey mistake at three out. I just think everything went against him at Wincanton and he still managed to be there or thereabouts. To be in the position he was in was impressive.
“He has come out of the race absolutely fine and we will now find something just to get his confidence back and I think we will aim him at the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown in February. He is a proper horse."
“It was just a step too far for him in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. He laid his heart on the line for us in the Reynoldstown for us and he came out of it bouncing, but that was because he won, and not because he was fresh, so he fooled me slightly.
“I was delighted with his comeback run at Newbury over hurdles. He was half fit and he had an interrupted preparation.
“He hadn’t done much work at home and we knew we needed to get him on the track to get a good blow into him. He returned from it bright as a button and he has come out of it brilliantly well.
“He will go for a racecourse gallop at Newbury on Tuesday and he will be bang on for the Coral Gold Cup. He has got a great profile for the race and he is the best chance I’ve had of winning it.
“He is looking better all the time as he is now a big strong horse whereas he was a weak and narrow horse. He could be the sort of horse that gets into the Grand National off the right weight with improvement.”
“He is fairly fragile, but when he goes to the track he is worth following. He will be aimed at a Pertemps qualifier.
“He is by Flemensfirth and I thought they always wanted a bit of cut, but he doesn't, however he has to have safe ground as he has got legs of glass.
“He returned from that mammoth lay off to win at Ascot last season. When he is right he is good. If we can get him to the Pertemps off one run that would be great.”
“He won his point-to-point over at Kirkistown before joining us. He seems a nice individual that will definitely improve for his run at Lingfield on Tuesday and he would also prefer much softer ground.
“We didn’t really want to lead, but we had to go forward with him and I think that is why he was a little bit green, and novicey.
“Although there were two or three non runners in the race I still think it was a decent contest he won.
“We will find somewhere else in two or three weeks time to run him under a penalty and see where we stand with him around Christmas and assess his future plans then.”
“Somehow we have not managed to win a bumper with her. She should have won at Carlisle on her comeback on Monday.
“She turned in last, and they all quickened up, and she got stopped in her tracks, but she still flew at the death. She has got plenty about her.
“She will go novice hurdling now and hopefully we can find a couple of nice little races to get her confidence up and take it from there.
“She could make into one for those mares’ Listed novice hurdles as she is a proper little terrier. She has got loads of class.”
KATIRA DU MESTIVEL
“She fell in her only start in a point-to-point at the last when she was beaten, but she was going to be second or third.
“She was weak, but she has been working the house down and goes very well at home.
“The plan is to start off in novice hurdles this season.”
“I love this horse and I thought he was going to be a very good horse last season, but he never quite hit the heights we expected him to.
“We sent him off for a bone scan in April and he had a broken rib which he must have run with. His work was spectacular early season during the last campaign and it is once again.
“The plan is to run him at Cheltenham on Sunday. He is in very good form and he jumps for fun and I’m looking forward to getting going with him as we all know how good he is.
“He is off a very workable mark of 120 and he could be tailor made for the two and a half mile novices’ handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival.”
“He has run three times in France for Francois Nicolle where he has been second, third and fifth.
“We got him at Arqana in July. He is only three years old, but he is not a juvenile type as he is very big.
“He is a gorgeous individual that is a big backwards type. We might run him this season, but we might not, however he is a smart horse for the future.”
MEETMEBYTHESEA
“He is a great big horse by Watar. He has a great mind, but he is a slightly backward type. He was second in his only Irish point-to-point back in March.
“His work has been good and he goes very nicely at home. Hopefully he will be a nice horse to follow as the season goes on.
“The plan is to start him off in a two mile novices’ hurdle in about two weeks time.”
“He did very well to win at Carlisle as we have to hold him up. He jumped very well on the whole, but he had to make up a lot of ground.
“He was held in and he made a mistake at three out, but he still managed to get out and jump the last two very well and in the end he probably won a shade cosily.
“Visually he was not impressive, but considering how the race was run I was very pleased. “We will definitely stay at two miles as he has got electric speed and gears galore.
“We will keep the hood on for his next run and then we will take it off after that. We will look for a novice race under a penalty as he doesn’t want to be going too high too soon.
“If he was good enough you could look at the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day, but he would have to show enough on the next run.”
“He won at Warwick he then bombed out at Sandown when the ground was bottomless and he then won at Doncaster before winning the Grade Two at Kelso. Aintree was just one run too many for him as he had been busy enough.
“I feel that was Lookaway’s Gold Cup and we will improve no end for the run. He came back a little bit jarred up as the ground was too quick, but he is absolutely fine now.
“We will find something for him in the next three weeks. I was very pleased on the whole with his first effort over fences.
“I think he is probably going to be best over two and a half miles. Soft ground is key to him and with that in our favour I think he will be alright.
“The Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby could be for him. He is probably not a Grade One horse as I think he is slightly short of that, but I think he'll win a Grade Two at some point.”
“You couldn’t have asked for a horse to jump better over the first four or five fences. He then just winged a fence and didn’t quite point his toes.
“He landed on his toe clip and buckled over. It was a nasty fall and has got a couple of nasty scrapes that he will have to get over, but he should be back being ridden in a week or so.
“He will be campaigned in a regular novice chase or a novice handicap chase in a few weeks time.
“I saw enough on Monday in the very short period at Carlisle to see that he is a natural chaser. He looked in great fettle with himself and I think he could feature higher than I maybe than I first thought in novice chase races this season.
“We will stick to two and a half miles, but he will get three miles when we need him to. “Hopefully he can be a horse to run in a Graded novice chase come the spring. He really is a horse that was going to be nothing else but a chaser.”
“He is another one that works the house down at home. He took an almighty blow and went through the race at Newbury like the best horse in the race by a country mile.
“He will go for the maiden hurdle back at Newbury at the Coral Gold Cup Weekend. I fully expect him to win that as I think he is a very good horse.
“I just hope that he can do himself justice next time out. He has got loads of speed and he jumps for fun. He loves his job.
“I hope that he is a proper novice hurdler for this season. I’m proud of how we campaigned him last season and I think he is one of our better novice hurdle prospects.
“I think he has an enormous amount of class.”
“He is waiting for some softer ground. He could go to Warwick on the 21st of this month for the veterans’ handicap chase there or he could go for the Coral Gold Cup where we could take some weight off him and drop him in slightly.
“He did far too much in the race early doors last year and he did brilliantly to finish sixth as he just got tired over the last two fences.
“I’m still not sold on the fact that he doesn’t stay. If he stayed two miles five furlongs around Cheltenham in the Plate he has got to be capable of staying at least three miles on a flat track.
“He is in good order and he had a nice racecourse gallop at Windsor on Monday.
“He has been an amazing horse, but he is not an old horse in the way he moves and goes. He hasn’t got many miles on the clock and I think he will be around for a good few years yet.
“We will probably end up running in the Plate again. He is a hero at the yard.”
“The plan is to run Slipway in the cross country chase at Cheltenham. It is a different angle for him. He is a cute horse that is very talented. On his day he could do whatever he wants.
“He likes to be in his comfort zone. We took him for a school around the track on Tuesday and he didn’t half school well.
“He might just float around there without realising what he is up to. We will take each race as it comes with him, but if he is competitive on Friday then it might be the plan to pop around there a few times this season."
“He was only four last season, but he had a fairly busy season the one before that. He looked like he got a bit tired towards the end of the season and that is probably why he pulled up on the final day of the season at Sandown.
“He is now set to go over fences and I think he has plenty of manoeuvrability in his mark of 119 once going into novice handicap chase company.”
THE JUKEBOX KID
“He is very smart and he won his only start in a point-to-point at Tinahely. I think the world of this horse.
“We won’t hang around going in bumpers with this lad and we will go straight over hurdles with him. He will be worth keeping on side.”
“He did deserve a Grade One last season over hurdles. He showed himself as a Grade One performer and he is a magnificent beast. He has come back bigger and stronger than ever before.
“His work has been unbelievable and his jumping is second to none. His schooling over fences has been pinpoint.
“We might have to go straight to Newbury for the Grade Two John Francome Novices’ Chase. If not he could go to Aintree on December 7th.
“We just need to see some rain and he won’t be seen until that happens.
“If we don’t get soft ground for those early targets we will end up staying over hurdles for the season and go chasing next season with him.
“He is as good a horse as I have had for a long time.”
“It was an amazing start in the West Yorkshire Hurdle up at Wetherby and he is in very good order with himself since his last run.
“He is a very versatile horse as he jumps hurdles like a hurdler and you wouldn’t think he would jump a fence, but he jumps a fence perfectly as well.
“It is going to be a fun season in getting to the Grand National as he is going to give us a lot of fun and he should be fairly competitive whatever he runs in.
“I think the plan is to go for the valuable three mile handicap hurdle at Haydock the weekend after next, but he is going to have an entry in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury as well. “He went up four pounds for finishing second the other day. The staying hurdle division is not exactly the strongest, but he is still 10 or 12 pounds short of the top of them in that.
“I’m in two minds at the moment. The field size of the Long Distance Hurdle would suit him better, but if he is going to win that then he is very well in a £100,000 handicap.”
“Sadly he had a setback. He came out of his race at Uttoxeter well. He then went out in the field and we got him back in, but he then had a slight hiccup in behind.
“He is back in exercise now and we will try and aim him at the two and a half mile handicap chase at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.
“He has not been a bad horse, he has just not become a Gold Cup horse, but that is probably because he has not got the minerals between the ears. He is a fabulously talented horse and he turns it on when he wants to.
“He just got left behind at the start in the Topham on his penultimate start then he ran a blinder at Uttoxeter and out in a career best performance.
“You could run him in something like the Ascot Chase in the second half of the season as he deserves a tilt at a decent one.”
BUMPER HORSES
“He is one that I went out and saw privately before he ran. Barry (Geraghty) rode him in a piece of work for me on the Old Vic at the Curragh and we were quite taken by him.
“He will start off in bumpers this season.”
“He would be of a similar level to The Hawkstonian and I think the world of him. He will probably stay in bumpers for the rest of the season.
“The plan is to start him off at Exeter on Monday. He did a good piece of work down in Lambourn the other day and I would be very sweet on him.”
“He is a lovely horse, but he probably won’t be seen until early next year. He will probably end up in bumpers for the rest of this season.
“He just had a bit of a wobble in the summer. I think he is a proper horse that just needs a bit of time.”
PRETTY FLAMINGO
“She just looks like an athlete and I love her. I don’t know a lot about her, but she is a proper horse for the future. She is another one that will feature in bumpers this season.”
ROCK SENSATION
“He is our first horse for the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate. They seem to think she is a very smart mare. She finished second on her only point-to-point start in Ireland last season.
“The likelihood is she will start off in a bumper for us.”
“He disappointed us at Uttoxeter as I thought the world of him, but I still do. He came home with sore shins as the ground was too quick. He wants proper soft ground in about three weeks time and I think you will see a different horse.
“He was very green, and it was a messy race as you had horses going off trying to jump the chase fences. He was left in front far too soon and he was feeling the pinch on that ground.
“He will be a different horse on soft ground. He has got a great brain on him.”
“He won his only start in a four year old point-to-point last season. He is a particularly nice individual that has got a great attitude.
“He finished fifth in what could be a useful bumper at Sandown the other day and we will just see what we do now with him.”
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