Jo’s views on the horses
Will your choices win? Here’s what Jo thinks of each horse you can pick.
The horses
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Benvoy (Benny)
Benvoy has won three races over hurdles and has also been placed on the Flat. He will hopefully run on the Flat again on 7 October before returning to hurdles over a longer trip. I think he will win again over hurdles, and we may well jump a fence with him after that.
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Jolie Baie (Jolene)
Jolie Baie won last time out at Fontwell and has come back into training in fantastic form. She has already won four races, and we hope she will add to that as soon as the ground turns soft, whenever that might be!
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Love Me (Dora)
Love Me finished third on her first attempt over two miles and three furlongs at the end of last season. She has come back in superb form and we’re really looking forward to her running. She will mix hurdles and fences over two and a half to three miles. She is ready to run and just needs a little bit of dig in the ground, so we could see her out by the middle of October.
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Jaja Jimmy (Jimmy)
Jaja Jimmy schooled over fences the other day and is ready to run. He will probably start at Worcester on 12 October or, failing that, at Ffos Las later that week, running over fences at three miles. I think he is a better horse this year and I’m really looking forward to seeing him perform.
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Sapphire Dream (Sammy)
Sapphire Dream is a new addition to the yard. He has won on the Flat and is schooling superbly over hurdles. He will be ready to run in the first or second week of October, and we’re really looking forward to his juvenile hurdling campaign. He will also keep running on the Flat on the all-weather.
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Montecasino (Monty)
Montecasino is a lovely little horse who came to us from France. He is taking time to get fit on his first preparation, which sometimes happens. He will run in bumpers this side of Christmas and should be competitive, then progress to hurdles.
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Takemethere (George)
Takemethere fell when coming to challenge in his point-to-point and has had a few niggles since. He is a big horse who has simply needed time, but we really like him. We hope to have him running by November, probably in a bumper.
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Harry
Harry is a young horse who came to us from Ireland, and we are still getting to know him. He is a very sweet horse with a good attitude and is showing plenty in his early work. He will run in a bumper this side of Christmas, once he has a racing name, and will probably want good ground.
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Calibos (Boss)
Calibos is well handicapped over hurdles and should be capable of winning. He is ready to run, will probably step up in trip, and we expect to have him on the racecourse by the middle of October.
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Maximum Benefit (Max)
We discovered that Maximum Benefit had a wind problem, which explains why his form was patchy last season. We have been working him in a tongue tie and hope that will make all the difference. He will run in a handicap hurdle around the middle of October. He is a very nice horse who just needs everything to come together.
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Green Hope (Hopey)
Green Hope was originally bought to run during the summer, but circumstances dictated otherwise, and we hope to have him racing by November. He was rated 120 in Ireland, so it will be interesting to see what mark the handicapper gives him here. We have only cantered him so far, but we like him a lot and think he is going to be a very nice horse. He should suit good or good-to-soft ground.
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Clemencehill (Clem)
Clemencehill is Blu’s pointer. He has been placed in point-to-points in Ireland and will go pointing at the beginning of November. He is a very nice horse and should be a lot of fun.