CLASSY chaser Sounds Russian is set to make his first racecourse appearance for nearly a year at Haydock Park tomorrow.
The nine-year-old, who is trained in Norton by Ruth Jefferson, hasn’t run this season having injured a knee when being brought down six fences from home in last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.
It has been a long road to recovery but he pleased his trainer in a schooling session last week so is now all set to make his comeback, although his exact target has yet to be decided.
Ruth said: “As he is a novice over hurdles, there are three races there for him on Saturday, but I think we will go for the Grade Rendlesham Hurdle over three miles.
“He has got to start somewhere and as there aren’t many suitable races for him over fences at the moment so we will most likely go for the Rendlesham. It is heavy going now at Haydock and there is plenty of rain around so I’m hoping it is going to be on.”
Sounds Russian needed surgery after his unfortunate experience at Cheltenham last year, Ruth saying: “He had twelve chips of bone removed and had to have all of his cartilage and ligaments tightened up.
“It seems to have gone well, but you never really know until you race them and I’m not making any further plans until he has had a run.”
His Cheltenham mishap, where he happened in the wrong place at the wrong time when a horse fell in front of him, ended something of a frustrating season for the talented nine-year-old.
It had begun well when he won a decent race at Kelso in October 2022, but after running well when fourth to Grand National winner Noble Yeats in the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree, he finished a close second to local rival Into Overdrive, giving him plenty of weight, in the Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase at Wetherby on Boxing day before finishing a close second to Ahoy Senor at Cheltenham at the end of January.
The new year has begun well for Ruth’s team for she picked up a good prize at Doncaster at the end of last month when Kerryhill, partnered by champion jockey Brian Hughes, scooted away from his rivals to land the £31,000 first prize for the River Don Novices Hurdle.
The six-year-old is also likely to be entered at Haydock on Saturday, the three-mile Albert Bartlett-sponsored Prestige Novice Hurdle being a possible target, but Ruth is in no hurry to run him again so soon.
“I know it is a long way off but I think I will save him and go straight for the three-mile novice at Aintree in April.
“There isn’t a lot for him him beforehand, there’s the race at Haydock on Saturday and there would have been the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham but I didn’t enter him as I don’t think the undulating track suits him. He didn’t run up to his best when fourth there in December.
“Also he probably needs to learn a bit more before he goes for a race at the Cheltenham Festival, where it is always so competitive, I think he would lack experience. He doesn’t show a great deal at home, but he seemed to enjoy the flat track at Doncaster so the Sefton Hurdle at Aintree should suit him.”
Last week Ruth had only one runner, but it was a winner, the progressive mare Hashtag Boum, who had been runner-up in her two previous races this season, winning the staying handicap hurdle at Market Rasen in the hands of Yorkshire-based jockey Henry Brooke.
Henry was also successful for local trainer Brian Ellison at Musselburgh the previous weekend when Anglers Crag made it three wins from three starts for the stable when winning a decent three-mile handicap chase at the track’s Trials meeting.
Formerly trained in Somerset by David Pipe, the nine-year-old has thrived since changing yards for this was the most impressive of his three wins for Brian as he stormed home by eleven lengths in the manner of progressive sort who can win again.
Brian also picked up a race on the Tapeta surface on the Flat at Newcastle last weekend when the five-year-old Explorers Way won his second race on the trot when scraping home by a head in the ten-furlong handicap in the hands of Ben Robinson.
One new training partnership this season is that of John and Sean Quinn, Sean, 32, joining his father on the licence at the beginning of this month.
“It’s a natural progression and youngsters deserve their chance,” said John, who added: “I don’t think much will change as Sean has been working with me for many years and I expect he will take over the licence at some point.”
The pair did have one piece of news, though, because their start sprinter Highfield Princess, who last season won a dramatic race for the Group 1 Prix de L’Abbaye at Longchamp, will remain in training for another year.
The pair had their first winner together when Possible Ambition, expertly ridden by Jason Hart, who has had a fine winter, won the mile handicap at Newcastle on Saturday.
The Quinn’s are one of several Ryedale yards to have kept ticking over on the artificial surfaces on the Flat this winter and last week there were further winners for both Norton-based Julie Camacho and Upper Helmsley’s David O’Meara last week.
Julie struck with Flash The Dash in the six-furlong handicap at Newcastle on Saturday, the five-year-old, who was partnered by Ryan Sexton, getting up close home to win by a neck.
David, whose string has been ticking over quite well during the winter, had an across-the-card double with Torvar, partnered by Ben Robinson, landing the five-furlong handicap at Newcastle’s evening fixture following on from the victory of Star Of Lady M who won a similar race at Lingfield in the afternoon in the hands of former champion jockey Oisin Murphy.
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