Tag Archive for: Lavender Hill Mob

All roads lead to Cheltenham for Gredley Festival hopes

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Connections are keeping their options open with Cheltenham scorers East India Dock and Burdett Road as they ponder preparations for the Festival in March.

Trained by James Owen for the Gredley family, the pair came out on top during the November meeting at Prestbury Park and a return there in March is very much the main aim.

Burdett Road enjoyed a successful Flat season in the summer, highlighted by winning the Listed Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket, and made a seamless return to timber when seeing off Be Aware by half a length in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle.

East India Dock has made an impressive start to his hurdling career, cosily winning on his debut at Wincanton before stepping up to Grade Two company and galloping home 18 lengths clear to win the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle.

The Golden Horn gelding holds an entry in Saturday’s BoyleSports Acca Boost Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree, but whether he takes up that engagement has yet to be decided, with another Triumph trial at Cheltenham also on cards early next year.

Owner-breeder Tim Gredley said plans were fluid but the ultimate decision on where the pair go would be down to trainer Owen.

He said: “James will decide that. As long as we end up at the Triumph (with East India Dock), and I think the plan for the Festival is for both of them to have one more run between now and the Festival and then where they are, we haven’t decided yet.

“I would say more than likely we will go for the race back at Cheltenham in early January, there’s another trial there, so maybe there, but I’ll leave that to James.

“What we have said is that we want to go to the Festival and both of them have one more run, but what races there are for Burdett I don’t know yet.”

Lavender Hill Mob made his much-anticipated debut for Owen at Newcastle on Saturday but had to settle for a four-and-three-quarter-length second to Inappropriate after just passing Spartan Warrior on the line.

The three-year-old son of Expert Eye holds a series of entries over the weekend but the option is also there for the Triumph trial at Cheltenham.

Gredley said: “I hope he comes on for the run. I think we’re going to run him again quickly and see how we go.

“It’s obviously disappointing to get beat but you have to remember that out of all the ones that have come off the Flat, he had had a little lay-off, a setback, so he was home for a lot longer than the others.

“I think he just looked rusty really, didn’t he? The other two in the race had been on the Flat very recently. He just looked rusty.

“I think we’re going to go to Cheltenham for that Triumph trial in a couple of weeks’ time.”



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Lavender Hill Mob beaten on eagerly-awaited hurdling debut

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Lavender Hill Mob suffered a shock reverse on his jumping debut, finishing well-beaten behind Inappropriate in the Paul Ferguson’s Jumpers To Follow ‘Introductory’ Juvenile Hurdle at Newcastle.

Seventh in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot, the reappearance of Lavender Hill Mob (2-7 favourite) had been eagerly-awaited ever since trainer James Owen mentioned him favourably in post-race dispatches following the runaway Cheltenham success of stablemate East India Dock last month.

It did seem to be going relatively to plan until things started to hot up, and Nico de Boinville’s mount was treading water when the Jedd O’Keeffe-trained Inappropriate (11-2) swept clear on what was both his jumping debut and first run for his new stable after leaving Harry Eustace.

O’Keeffe, who has his small string in good form, said: “We’re very pleased, we decided to have a punt at this race. We won it a few years ago with a horse we bought at the sales (Tavus, 2019) and it was a fairly small field that day so we thought we might get a small field again.

“We thought it was a nice place to start, even if he didn’t win it looked a nice place to introduce him.

“We’ve always liked him a lot at home and his jumping has always been exceptional, there’s a really nice rhythm and shape to the way he jumps and it was the same today.

“We haven’t made any plans, if there’s another race like this, quite valuable, that would be great, but I haven’t really looked beyond today in truth.”

He added: “Juvenile hurdles are different these days, there’s a lot of ex-French in them as the jumps trainers generally can’t compete with the overseas market but we managed to find him, so I’m delighted.”

Skyjack Hijack (10-11 favourite) has been a revelation this season and Jennie Candlish’s charge won for the sixth time in succession in the Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk ‘The French Furze’ Novices’ Hurdle.

There are few hurdlers in training who get from one side of a hurdle to the other quicker than him and it must be a real thrill for Sean Quinlan riding him.

Adopting usual front-running tactics, Tony Martin’s Zanndabad was the only one to get within hailing distance but he was still beaten nine and a half lengths.

Alan O’Keeffe, Candlish’s partner and assistant, said: “He’s been great, he goes a good gallop and keeps going, jumping is his biggest asset.

“I honestly think the way he jumps he reminds me of a Champion Hurdle horse as he spends not time at all in the air and is very accurate.

“That will be it for a while now as he’s been busy and the ground will start to change. How high can he go? He’s doing everything right but Sean maybe thought he just wasn’t quite as sharp today and he got warm at the start so that indicates he needs a break.

“I wouldn’t expect we’d see him until February time and then Cheltenham comes into the equation. Whether than is handicaps or the Albert Bartlett we’ll see. It takes a fair horse to win six and he’s beaten some decent horses there.”



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Mob-handed Owen hoping to further strengthen juvenile hurdler hand

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The highly-touted Lavender Hill Mob will get his hurdling career up and running when he heads to Newcastle for the Paul Ferguson’s Jumpers To Follow ‘Introductory’ Juvenile Hurdle on Saturday.

Trainer James Owen set tongues wagging when suggesting this three-year-old could prove even better than his impressive Cheltenham winner East India Dock and as such his introduction over timber has been eagerly awaited ever since.

Twice a winner on the Flat for Michael Bell, he was last seen finishing a respectable seventh in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot and now has the assistance of Nico de Boinville in the saddle for the Gredley family as he enters the National Hunt sphere at Gosforth Park.

When asked where Lavender Hill Mob fits in a juvenile team that not only features East India Dock but also includes the unbeaten Liam Swagger, Owen – whose filly Opec looked smart at Newbury on Friday – said: “He’s obviously got the best form on the Flat. His Royal Ascot run was a good run, he’s done plenty of schooling and he’s ready for his first day out.

“He’s done everything right at home and Newcastle is a nice, galloping track to start him off, so it’s ideal. I’m looking forward to seeing him run, so fingers crossed.”

In the Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk ‘The French Furze’ Novices’ Hurdle, it is Jennie Candlish’s Skyjack Hijack who looks the one to beat having racked up a five-race winning sequence this autumn.

Having started his winning run off a mark of 97 at Cartmel in August, he is now rated 132 with his team hoping he can continue showing the progressive form as he takes the next step up the ladder.

Skyjack Hijack in action at Exeter
Skyjack Hijack in action at Exeter (David Davies/PA)

“Hopefully the ground will be good, which he likes. There are a couple of unexposed horses in there, but I will be hoping his experience will stand him in good stead against those horses with less experience,” said Alan O’Keeffe, assistant to Candlish.

“He’s done great the last five runs, but he’s stepping up in grade all the time and taking on better and better horses each time.

“He’s up to 130 now and things are going to get difficult but it looks the logical step. He does carry a penalty but you don’t see many horses going into a novice hurdle having won five in a row and we just hope his experience counts and if he turns up like he did at Exeter I would be pretty hopeful of a great run.

“He’s schooled well over fences and that’s for the future but for now he does need to keep improving as he’s taking on a better class of horse. However, he’s doing everything right at the minute and with a bit of luck he will keep that progression going forwards.

“He’s due a break at some point and he doesn’t go on bad ground, so we will see what happens Saturday and it could be that he has a little break afterwards ahead of the spring.”

The concluding BetMGM Rehearsal Handicap Chase has some famous names on its roll of honour, with Cheltenham Festival winners L’Homme Presse and Yorkhill among the recent victors.

FA Cup-winning manager Harry Redknapp will now bid to add his name to trophy as Bowtogreatness – the horse he owns with trainer Ben Pauling’s wife Sophie – skips an assignment at Newbury to head to the north east in search of Rehearsal glory.

“I was really tempted by Newcastle and I think this is the right stepping stone to keeping his season going the right way because he seems in really good form with himself,” said Pauling.

“The ground is good and it was obviously the same ground at Newbury when he won. He’ll have come on a bundle for that first run.”



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Gredleys on cloud nine after triumphant weekend at Cheltenham

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Owner-breeder Tim Gredley is excited by the potential squad of horses at his family’s disposal for the Cheltenham Festival.

Burdett Road made all in the hands of champion jockey Harry Cobden to win the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham on Sunday, just a day after his half-brother East India Dock strolled to victory in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle.

The Gredleys have a long and illustrious history with Flat horses, with Gredley’s father, Bill, synonymous with the likes of St Leger heroine User Friendly and Eclipse winner Environment Friend. But in partnership with trainer James Owen, they have developed a talent of switching Flat performers to the National Hunt arena in recent times.

Lavender Hill Mob is another whom the Gredleys have high hopes for over obstacles, while Liam Swagger is two for two over hurdles and the smart filly Ambiente Amigo also made a winning start over timber.

Burdett Road had a successful summer campaign and victory in the Listed Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket earned him a shot in the Ascot Gold Cup, where he was not disgraced in being beaten seven and three-quarter lengths by Kyprios.

That engagement delayed his return to hurdling, but he took the two-month break in his stride to hold off Be Aware by half a length on the Old course, earning quotes for the Champion Hurdle back at Cheltenham in March.

Gredley said: “It was brilliant wasn’t it. In fairness it was kind of a plan we made in the middle of the year to go for that race and James has done a great job in just switching him off.

“We kind of hoped that sending him off in front he would drop the bridle, we tried it at Newmarket and it worked there so we were quite confident and it’s nice when a plan comes off and he was obviously given a very good ride from Harry Cobden.

“I’m just delighted because I love the horse – he’s such a warrior. He always put 110 per cent in and it’s nice when those horses get rewarded for it.

“We’ll let the dust settle and see how’s come out of the race (before making plans). He’s also done quite a lot of racing recently so we’ll speak to James, but it’s a nice problem to have.

“We’re in no rush, that was the plan. The plan’s come off and obviously no one wants to say it, but everybody wants to have runners at the Cheltenham Festival so for sure he’ll run there in something, but the plan with all of our jumpers is to have as many runners at the Festival (as we can).

“We’re just trying to manoeuvre our way around to get as many horses in that week in competitive races.

East India Dock was brilliant in his victory at Cheltenham
East India Dock was brilliant in his victory at Cheltenham (Nigel French/PA)

East India Dock maintained his winning record over hurdles when coming home 18 lengths clear of the field and the Triumph Hurdle at the Festival remains the target for the three-year-old.

Gredley added: “Very exciting. Although he’s a half-brother to Burdett Road he’s very different, there’s a lot more of him, he’s much more substantial. And I kind of hoped that we would take to jumping because he’s built for it a bit better than Burdett Road.

“The Fanshawes had him on the Flat, he was actually Ambiente Friendly’s lead horse for half his life so he was probably a bit sick of being lapped at home!

“It’s nice. He’s just been progressive this whole time with his pedigree being by Golden Horn, we were hoping he was always going to get a bit better.

“He’s really taken to jumping well, which makes a big difference, and Sam (Twiston-Davies) was really impressed with him. I don’t know how strong the race will be when you look back at it. He can only do what he can and he won really well.

“We will try to run everything at Cheltenham that has a chance in those races, so the Triumph will be the target and James was saying we’d like to just run him one more time and then go from there.”

James Owen in the paddock
James Owen has a strong hand to look forward to for Cheltenham (Mike Egerton/PA)

Lavender Hill Mob is another the Gredleys have high hopes for and he won at Goodwood handicap on the level before being last seen finishing seventh in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot.

Gredley said: “He’s got the perfect profile for it, I think. He’s won on heavy ground at Goodwood.

“We know he stays two miles because he ran in that race at Royal Ascot and he finished off the race great.

“He had a little setback in the middle of the summer so he’s actually come back to Stetchworth and had a really good break and I think it’s been a bit of a blessing in disguise.

“He’s really filled out, he looks great, he’s still got a long way to go to be comparing him with East India Dock, but all the signs are good so far.

“James and I are going to sit down because I keep missing these things because of my showjumping. I was competing at Stuttgart in the World Cup on Sunday so I couldn’t make it. I’d like to try to have him have his first run at a time when I can come and watch him!

“But otherwise the plan is to maybe start him at Sandown or somewhere like that, but we’d like to pitch him in a deep race first time just to know what we’ve got really.”

Liam Swagger won on his hurdling debut and followed up in Wensleydale Juvenile Hurdle at Wetherby and is another likely heading for the Festival.

Gredley said: “To me he looks more like a Boodles horse (Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle) so we’ll have to think about how we do that.

“Again he’s really tough, he’s really built for it. The mother, Bark, has really thrown us a lot of nice horses so we’ve been really lucky with her and we know that all of those horses will stay, so he’s very exciting. Which race he runs in at Cheltenham is still up in the air a little bit.”

Ambiente Amigo won on her hurdling debut at Newcastle last month and Gredley joked: “Don’t forget about Ambiente Amigo, she’s the good one.”



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