Graham Clark gets the lowdown from Gary Moore on his team for the new jumps season.
This season sees another name across the door at Cisswood Stables, but it is very much business as usual for father and son team Gary and Josh Moore.
Since starting out in the early 1990s Gary has gone on to establish himself as one of the leading dual purpose performers in Britain with a string of big race victories.
And last season was no different with Le Patron landing the Grade One Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown and Nassalam winning the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.
Added to that were a brace of Grade Two wins for Botox Has and victory at the same level for the exciting Salver, who ended the campaign with a fine third in the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
With all those names, and more, back again for another term, it might not be too long before the Moore team are celebrating further success under their new banner.
Gary said: “We had less winners last season, but we still managed to break the one million pound barrier in prize money for the third season running which was good.
“I feel it was a bit of a messed up season with how the ground was and it felt like it never really got going for us. It didn’t feel like we had our best shot at it.
“Nassalam winning the Welsh Grand National was great however and it was good to see Botox Has win two Grade Two races. He really was at his best last season and it was good for the owners who are a great supporter of the game.
“We also then had Le Patron win the Grade One at Sandown Park and those really were the special days. They were a bit few and far between, but you can only do what you can do.
“Hopefully this season we can have a few more big winners with the team we have got and keep up the prize money levels.”
“He is a nice horse and one that I’ve always liked a lot. I was surprised he got beat at Fakenham, but that was my fault as the track and ground were the two reasons he got beat, however he would have also needed his first run as well.
“Kielan Woods said it rode like a very good race and I respect his judgement. He should make his mark in novice handicap hurdles as the season progresses.”
“He has been very frustrating. He was meant to run the Saturday before last, but the ground was too quick. He will be going chasing again in the near future.
“I always thought he was going to be a very talented horse, but he has never really lived up to it.
“He gets silly little things wrong with him like for instance he got a grass seed in his leg and that got infected. Hopefully he will come good at some point over fences.”
“It had been the plan to give a run over the Aintree fences. He ran a blinder over hurdles on his first start for us, but fences are really his job.
“He jumped a bit too well over the Aintree fences as he was a bit too big and careful. He was just wasting a lot of energy in the air
“It probably wasn’t for him with all that weight on his back and he knew about it. He is badly handicapped over a fence.
“He could go back over hurdles while we will also keep an eye on any races that are cutting up throughout the winter and see what we can nick here and there.
“He did jump the Aintree fences fine so we might go for a cross country race with him as well.”
“David (Maxwell) came in and schooled him the other day and he was great. He is a natural born chaser and he could be anything.
“He ran in the Grade One at Aintree, but David fancied trying his luck in the race, and he ran creditably.
“We will come back in trip down to two and a half miles. He jumps fences well so he could improve a fair bit. If he takes to chasing like he did hurdling he could be quite useful.
“I know David has a lot of faith in the horse and he really likes him.”
“He enjoyed the best season of his career last season, but he has always been a good horse there is no doubt about it.
“He is another one that wants soft ground, and he was a bit disappointing on his return at Cheltenham the other day, but that is him. Hopefully when we get the rain he will be able to do well again.
“The owners travel a lot and the race the other day at Cheltenham was one of the few times they could see him hence why we went there.
“The Long Walk Hurdle back at Ascot is his big target. He will run again before that, but I need to speak to connections to see where we run him and we will also have to keep an eye on what the ground is like.
“There are a couple of nice younger horses coming through in that staying division, but he seems in a very good place with himself so he should be able to hold his own with them.”
“He runs in the Paddy Power Gold Cup as he needs two and a half miles now. He had a run the other day just to blow away the cobwebs.
“He seems in good order and is quite well in himself so hopefully he will run well.
“What he has done he has done very well. To have won a Clarence House Chase and the Desert Orchid Chase twice is great. He owes us nothing really.
“His win in the Desert Orchid Chase last season kind of saved his season as it didn’t matter what he did after that.”
“I thought he would run well on his debut. He will be winning a bumper before long and he could take in the Listed bumper at Ascot before Christmas or go to the one at Newbury as well.
“We thought he would have a good each-way chance on his first start for us so he didn’t run above our expectations at Sandown.”
“It was a performance that we expected at Newbury and thankfully he delivered. He won very nicely.
“He will run again and then we will probably go for one of the championship bumpers at either Cheltenham or Aintree.
“He might go to the Newbury bumper on Betfair Hurdle day as it depends when David (Maxwell) can ride him. I don’t think it will be the Ascot one before Christmas.
“Caoilin Quinn rides him out at home and he thought he was a proper horse and Jamie (Moore) sat on him as well and he agreed. He is exciting and it was good that he delivered.
“He shows a bit more speed than the likes of Hurricane Pat, who would be a stayer in the long run.”
“The plan is to run him in the Grade Two juvenile hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday. We should have won with him on the flat by now, but he ran well on his hurdles debut at Wincanton.
“At Wincanton he ran as if a stiffer test was needed so a track like Cheltenham should hopefully suit him much better.”
“When he won at Exeter we had gone out with his owners to a Cheltenham preview event and they all sat in the room, and there was quite a lot of people there. There was soon no attention to what was going on in the room as it was all about Goshen!
“He has been an unbelievable horse and quite a lot of people follow him. About five times I’ve gone on record saying that we won’t run him over fences and I end up going to do it.
“He has now got a mark of 141 over both hurdles and fences. However, he had a tendon slip off a hock the day he ran at Exeter. It is quite a serious injury, and he has never had an injury in his life, so it has set him back.
“He was the last one to come in and he has just started hacking now. You won’t see him until after Christmas. I will probably mix and match him over fences and hurdles and he will probably end up running in something like the Kingwell Hurdle again.
“I’m sure he will get his head in front at some point this season”
“He is back and will be out quite soon. He was going to go to Wincanton on Saturday for the Elite Hurdle, but the ground was too quick.
“He did have an entry in the Greatwood Hurdle, but there is a race at Ascot for him and other opportunities as well. The Betfair Hurdle would be on the radar.
“We might get him over a fence one day. There are few better men than Noel (Fehily) who would know, but he thinks it would be questionable if he would take to chasing, but if you don’t try you don’t know.
“He had that setback, and all that time out, but from what I’ve seen everything looks good with him.”
“He didn’t win last season, but he ran some good races which is a nuisance as you still go up in the weights.
“He is a born looking chaser, but he wouldn’t have it over fences. I’m not saying I won’t give it another go as he is that bit older.
“He is going to be hard to place in hurdle races. We will school him at home and see what he does and if jumps fences at home then we will go chasing, but if he doesn’t we won’t mess about with it.”
“He was busting fences last year, but he has been schooling well and working out of his skin.
“He is very ground dependent and needs it soft. He could be one to Haydock and places like that as you have to go where the ground is soft.
“We sent him to Uttoxeter at the end of the season, but it just never happened. I don't know why.
“He pulled up at Sandown on Sunday, but he needs the ground much softer than it was. It had been the plan to run him there for a long time as he has got a good record around Sandown.
“He jumped well early, but down the back straight, where it was at its quickest, he made a couple of mistakes. He will be okay once the rain comes.”
“I was expecting Hurricane Pat to win at Sandown as he had done all his work with El Cairos, plus he had two runs in point-to-points.
“We thought he would finish ahead of Edward Sexton simply because he had that bit more experience.
“He will have an easy time and hopefully stay down the bumper route. We will probably find another small bumper, and, although you never know what you are running against, hopefully we can find one that he can win under penalty.
“All being well he could go for a championship bumper in the spring. In the long run Hurricane Pat will be a three mile chaser.”
“He did very well in the same race at Ascot as Kotmask. He just jumped his way to the front and he was left in front a week too early.
“You would normally hang on to him a lot longer, but he still ran a great race and Freddie (Gordon) gave him a great ride, but it just didn’t work out.
“The lead horse made a bad mistake and he jumped it well and he was left in front. He had no weight on his back and you would have been stupid to take him back.
“He, like a lot of ours this season, are all needing the run, but he ran above himself. He wants two and a half miles and he also wants good ground.”
“He is not back yet as he is still away. He has got to have soft ground. He got beat at Plumpton when we thought he would win, but he is another born chaser.
“The race he was sixth in at Taunton was a warm contest. We will be sending him straight over fences as he has been fourth in two point-to-points.
“He has a mark of 125, but he should be winning off that mark, although I don’t think he would have much in hand. A lot depends on how he jumps fences.”
“He did well last season considering he was mad, but he has never lived up to things after he completely blew everyone away first time out over hurdles at Newbury.
“He can be a nice chaser, but he is never going to be a superstar. He ran a great race at Fontwell the other day and he was only just denied.
“I was very happy with him, but at Fontwell you have to get to that rail and unfortunately he didn’t get there.
“Two and a half miles is very much his trip.”
“He seems like a nice horse and the owners paid a lot of money for him from France. The future is very much ahead of him.
“He was last of four runners at Fontwell the other day, but he wants heavy ground. It was too quick for him over that trip.
“They all started racing one side and he got left behind. He was a bit slower than them and he just wants slower ground and a stiff galloping track. You can put a line through that run.”
“He ran a blinder at Ascot on his comeback and I was very pleased with him. He is entered in the Paddy Power and he will either go there or go back to Ascot for the Hurst Park.
“He was a bit of a Plumpton specialist last season, but they were valuable prizes and the races suited him. They were relatively easy races to win.
“He is only six years old so hopefully there is still plenty of progression to come in those valuable handicap chases.”
“He did well in the first half of the season, but he kind of tailed off at the end of the season. However, it was probably because he had some hard races early on and that just took its toll on him.
“He is going to be hard to place again this season, but he is another that has to have soft ground as well. They just go half a stride slower on it and he gets into a better rhythm.
“We had to force it in the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase and that is what probably took its toll on him, but it was the obvious place to go.
“Dropping back in trip probably wasn’t the best thing as we had to force the pace, but on that day we got away with it.
“He has had a good summer to get over it. It is a case of where to go next as he has a crazy mark. We didn’t put him in the Paddy Power Gold Cup as I thought he might be too high in the handicap for that.
“There is the Grade Two at Ascot and we have also put him in the Hurst Park Handicap Chase. There is also the graduation chase at Haydock the same weekend and that would fit his bill as they do tend to get softer ground there.
“Races like the Peterborough Chase then come into it if the ground is right.”
“He ran a blinder at Plumpton the other day when he was only just beaten and giving plenty of weight away.
“He will switch to fences now. He has schooled well over fences at home. He is a nice horse and I think we will be seeing him winning over fences this season.”
“He is now back from his injury which is great to see. He is a nice horse that has been schooling well. Like so many of my others he wants soft ground.
“We haven’t seen him since 2022, but when we get some soft ground he will be seen straight over fences.”
“I had to run him in the Gold Cup after he won the Welsh Grand National as a horse with the mark he was given should be good enough to run in a Gold Cup, but he wasn’t unfortunately.
“I do think he overachieved in the Welsh Grand National and the others underachieved. Unfortunately the handicapper didn’t see it like that and we had to pay the penalty for it. “Without sounding blaise he has to run some bad races to get down to a mark he can be competitive enough off again.
“His target will be the Welsh Grand National as he seems to like Chepstow. He pulled up there on his comeback, but the ground wouldn’t have been to his liking, while he was also carrying too much weight.
“I wouldn’t think the Grand National will be on the agenda for him later in the season.
“I do think there is another nice race in him when he comes down to the right mark as he is young enough to win another race like the Welsh Grand National. He could be one that runs at Cheltenham at the weekend.”
“He ran so well in things like the Irish Derby and the owners were keen to get him. I felt we would give him the majority of the summer off and he would come back a better horse.
“He did fall on his last start over hurdles last season, but they don’t worry him. He has obviously got an engine in him, but it is just getting it out of him.
“However, I’ve run him twice on the flat and he didn't seem to be quite there. We went back over hurdles with him at Sandown on Sunday and he jumped and travelled well.
“He looked a bit one paced over two miles so I’d say we will be going up in trip, but we were happy enough with the way he ran.
“Hopefully he should win one or two races this season.”
RISK IT ALL
“He is owned by the same people that own Royal Way. He won his bumper over in France and he is now over here.
“He has put loads of weight on, which he is struggling to get off, but I gave him a break as soon as he came over as I like to do that if I can.
“He looks like a very nice horse. He hasn’t been over schooled, but we will hope to get him out at some point before Christmas.”
“He falls into the same sort of category as Salver. He is not a bad horse and he would have a bit more speed than Salver.
“He ran very well on ground that he wouldn’t have appreciated at Cheltenham and I’m pleased that he came out of the race okay as it was always on my mind it might be too quick for him.
“He could go back to Cheltenham and run in the Greatwood Hurdle if the ground is okay. If he goes there I think he has a big chance.
“He is another that could easily go for the Gerry Feilden at Newbury if he doesn’t go to Cheltenham.
“He is not going to be easy to place, but he is slightly better handicapped than what Salver is.”
“I’ve always liked him a lot. He came over from Italy as a big strong colt, who was desperate to be cut, but I didn’t think he would go on to do what he did.
“When he won first time out at Warwick he was very raw. He just improved throughout the season.
“To run as well as he did in the Triumph Hurdle was great as he was the best of the English trained horses. Had it been softer ground we might have got a different result as he does like a bit of cut in the ground.
“We had him in the Masterson Holdings Hurdle at Cheltenham, but it was too quick. There is the Coral Hurdle at Ascot or if we don’t go for that then there is the Gerry Feilden at Newbury.
“I think when we see him over two and a half miles you will see a better horse. If you watch him jump the last at Cheltenham he really stayed on and he was just beaten for a bit of speed there.
“The National Spirit at Fontwell is a race we will definitely look at after Christmas and he doesn’t have to go to Cheltenham.
“The National Spirit you are likely to have soft ground and it is a valuable prize. I’d rather go down the road and win a race there instead of going to Cheltenham and getting rolled over by the Irish.”
“He is in at Cheltenham and Fontwell this weekend, but I think he is more than likely to go to Fontwell. He was not a bad horse on the flat and he has schooled well over hurdles.
“He has been consistent on the flat winning three times this year. He is a good, honest little horse.
“He has been better on the slow ground on the flat, but unfortunately that doesn’t exist in this country any more.
“He could be the juvenile flag bearer for us this season.”
“He is a lovely horse. He won his race last season, but he was just handicapped out of it after that. He ran good races afterwards, but not quite good enough.
“He is not quite good enough to take on those better horses off those sorts of weights. He was meant to run at Ascot the other weekend, however it was too quick.
“He is in the Greatwood Hurdle, but we might wait a week and go back to Ascot instead. He is not a bad horse.
“We will see how he gets on over hurdles, but we could switch him to chasing.”
“He is a lovely horse that we really like a lot. He has been working well since joining us. “Watching him school the other morning it looks like he wants soft ground as he jumps better out of that than on normal ground.
“I would say we would campaign him over two miles or two and a half miles, but I don’t know a lot about him. The horse has settled into life well here and he is improving all the time.”
Jumps Stable Tours...
- Willie Mullins Part 1 and Part 2
- Olly Murphy
- Kim Bailey
- Paul Nicholls
- Gordon Elliott
- Nicky Henderson
- Dan Skelton
- Lucinda Russell
- Harry Derham
- Fergal O'Brien
- Jamie Snowden
- Joe Tizzard
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