AURORE D'ESTRUVAL is fast proving herself to be the star of the Gazette & Herald’s ‘Ten to Follow’ this winter. But, having won her second Listed race of the campaign at Sandown last Saturday, don’t expect to see her again until Cheltenham in March.

The Grade 1 David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle at the all-important four-day Festival at Prestbury Park is the ultimate seasonal target for the talented Ryedale performer, who has twice been ridden to victory this season by Tony McCoy.

“She’ll go straight to Cheltenham,” confirmed trainer John Quinn earlier this week after reporting that Aurore D’Estruval had come through her latest Sandown test without a blemish, and after enhancing her growing reputation.

“She’s a very good mare,” said Quinn, who had placed her to win a Listed race at Wetherby in early-November before seeing her chase home Irving in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.

“There is another mares’ Listed race at Doncaster next month, but she’s won two of them, so there’s no need to run her, in some ways. She’s only just turned five. It’s eight weeks to Cheltenham. We’ll tick her over, maybe take her away somewhere for a spin about three weeks beforehand, and we’ll be fine.

"She can go well off a break. She doesn’t need another race in the meantime, especially if it came up attritional ground like it was at Sandown. No horse gets an easy race on that sort of ground.”

Having joined Quinn from France last year, Aurore D’Estruval has thrived in the meantime, and particularly since returning to training after her summer break.

He added: “She’s stronger this season. I wasn’t totally happy with her towards the end of last season, but we got her to Aintree for a Grade 1 race and she ran well to finish fifth behind four geldings. Two of those four horses have since won in Grade 1 company.”

Quinn is eagerly looking forward to taking Aurore D’Estruval to Cheltenham. “It’s a Grade 1 race and all being well, she’s going to go there with a good chance,” he predicts.

 

• AS 2015 dawned last week, Freedom Flying rolled back the years to produce a sensational 100-1 victory for her Norton trainer.

Lee James, who has only a handful of horses, sent the 12-year-old mare to Catterick’s New Year’s Day meeting. It was her first outing since running on the Flat in August, but she proved more than fit enough to do herself justice when leaving punters open-mouthed with a shock success. Amazingly, she had not won a race since scoring at Hexham in November 2009 when trained by Phil Kirby.

Kyle James was on board at Hexham and was also in the saddle at Catterick, riding for his father. To add to the family celebrations, Carol James, the trainer’s wife, led-up Freedom Flying, who scored by a commanding six lengths.

Backers of the 100-1 winner on the Tote were left disappointed. Freedom Flying produced a win dividend on the ‘machine’ of only just over 62-1.

Among other local winners last week were Neville Bycroft’s Eium Mac, a 16-1 scorer at Southwell, where Norton jockey Tom Eaves won on 10-1 shot Incomparable for Scott Dixon, and Chavoy, who hit the target for Brandsby trainer Rebecca Menzies at Newcastle.

 

• BRIAN ELLISON has his horses in good form and a Catterick double on New Year’s Day with odds-on favourites Definitly Red and Racing Europe provided the Norton trainer with a perfect start to 2015.

Both horses are owned by Phil Martin, who has quickly become a major patron of the Spring Cottage stable - he also owns unbeaten dual-winner Seamour and the useful The Grey Taylor – and bigger and better days are likely to be in the pipeline for both.

Definitly Red, a high-class bumper horse when trained in Lincolnshire by Steve Gollings, opened his hurdles account in workmanlike style under Will Kennedy, who was also aboard Racing Europe, who appreciated the step up to three miles when adding a hurdles win to his Bangor bumper success.

Currently missing out on the Ellison purple patch is luckless jockey Danny Cook, the stable’s main rider, who broke an arm in a crashing fall at Musselburgh just before Christmas. He is aiming to be back in action later this month.

 

• HARRY HAYNES, who spent a chunk of last year riding successfully in the US after opportunities had dried up for him on home soil, is back firing on all cylinders in Britain.

Indeed, Haynes enjoyed a milestone victory at Catterick last week when chalking up his 100th career win on Straidnahahnna for Sue and Harvey Smith in the novices’ chase.

Haynes, who enjoyed a memorable Cheltenham Festival triumph in 2012 when winning the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle for Norton trainer Malcolm Jefferson on Attaglance, rode the same horse to victory the following month in a valuable handicap at the Aintree Festival, where he also suffered the hearbreak of being brought down in the Grand National on Jefferson’s fatally injured According To Pete, on whom he had won the Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby and Haydock’s Peter Marsh Chase.

Haynes’ fortunes dipped dramatically the following season, hence his shift to the US, which worked out well. But he’s now giving it another go in Britain and, having previously been based in Malton, is now living in Sussex, where he rides out regularly for Gary Moore, trainer of top two-mile chaser Sire de Grugy.

Haynes, though, is adopting a ‘have saddle will travel’ policy and also rides-out for trainers in Yorkshire and Ryedale, including the Smiths at Bingley. “Sue and Harvey have been very good to me,” he says. “I try to get around as much as I can and things are going well at the moment.”

With a century of winners under his belt, Harry Haynes is now intent on achieving another hundred.

 

• BARRY MCHUGH has much to be thankful to Woolfall Sovereign for, especially in the month of January.

The Norton jockey won on the Newmarket-trained gelding at Wolverhampton in January 2011 and at Southwell in January 2012. Last week, on New Year’s Day, McHugh posted a third success on Woolfall Sovereign when narrowly winning Southwell’s feature event, which carried a first prize of more than £13,000.

“He’s a grand old horse and has been good to me,” said McHugh, who got the nine-year-old home by a head from the hot favourite Dungannon to win at 12-1. “I was tracking Dungannon, but then he got a bit of a bump and it seemed to set him alight,” added the jockey.

Katie Margarson, daughter of trainer George, revealed that Woolfall Sovereign’s career was at something of a cross-roads last year, because of ongoing foot problems and also a tendon issue.

“It’s great to see him back,” she said. “He’s a lovely horse and is one of my favourites.” McHugh doubtless thinks likewise.

 

• MICK EASTERBY is staging his annual Sheriff Hutton point-to-point on Sunday in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance – and will have at least one celebrity guest.

Ultra-popular television presenter Clare Balding confirmed earlier this week that she will be attending the January 11 gathering. “I asked her a while ago if she’d like to come and it’s great that she’s going to be joining us,” said Easterby, who is also expecting top racing broadcaster Nick Luck to be in attendance for the second successive year. “Both of them will be doing a presentation,” revealed Easterby.

The day is a big date for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. “We raised £14,000 last year for them, which was the most ever. We’d like to do even better this year,” said Easterby.