Chltenham Festival dreams alive for Jack Jones with Teriferma

A dual winner for Joseph O’Brien during the summer, the three-year-old was thrown into a JCB Triumph Trial on his British bow and charged home after the final flight to force a dead-heat with the Warren Greatrex-trained Quantock Hills.

The victory provided Jones with back-to-back wins in the race, having struck gold with another ex-O’Brien runner in An Bradan Feasa 12 months ago.

An Bradan Feasa went on to finish eighth in the Fred Winter at the Festival and Jones feels his latest Irish recruit is capable of bettering that result come March.

Jones, who is moving into the retiring Rae Guest’s stables in Newmarket, said: “It’s fairytale stuff really to have a winner at Cheltenham and to win that race for a second time was brilliant.

“We obviously don’t have many jumpers, but we do OK with the ones have and Teriferma obviously came from the same school as An Bradan Feasa.

“We’ve had him three or four months and he’s been very straightforward, he’s shown a good level of ability in his work and his schooling and I think he’s a probably a better than the lad last year.

“I was gobsmacked he was 18/1, but I loved the way he hit the line and even if he’d been beaten a couple of lengths I think you’d have said he was the one take out of the race.”

Jones expects to have a clearer idea of what Teriferma’s Festival target will be after his next run, with several options under consideration.

“The handicapper has put him up to 128 and the Fred Winter (Boodles) would look the logical target, but at the same time he’s not far off being an outsider for the Triumph,” the Newmarket handler added.

“The Chatteris Fen comes a bit too soon and I’m not sure Huntingdon would be his track, so that leaves us with Cheltenham on Trials Day, Musselburgh (Scottish Triumph Hurdle) and Kempton (Adonis Hurdle).

“We went to Musselburgh last season (with An Bradan Feasa) and that didn’t really work out. It’s a long way and I don’t think the owners are that keen to go back.

“East India Dock is probably going to Cheltenham, but do you run scared of one horse? Probably not.

“I was contemplating not giving him another run between now and the Festival to protect his mark, but I think he could probably do with the match practice. He’s an exciting prospect.”

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