I’msingingtheblues

I’msingingtheblues ran a cracker to the second last in the extended two-mile-one-furlong Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter on Tuesday. This near two-and-a-quarter-mile trip at a stiff track like Exeter clearly stretches his stamina, and they did go really fast early on here with Herecomesthetruth setting a strong gallop until he ran out five from home. I’msingingtheblues travelled well into the straight but was ultimately outstayed after the second last by the first three. That is certainly no disgrace as the winner, Tchico Polos, had good Graded novice chase form at two and a half miles last season and had been reportedly aimed at this race for some time, the second horse, the winner’s stablemate Twist Magic, is a five times Grade 1 winner over fences, while the third, Somersby, has serious pretensions to becoming a live Gold Cup contender.

I’msingingtheblues never got beyond two miles when with Paul Nicholls, and it could well be that there is a decent prize in him on his first run back at two miles for his new trainer David Pipe. He was running just as well as he was here when coming to grief at the cross fence in the Old Roan Chase over two and a half miles at Aintree on his previous run. On the evidence of this Exeter run, he wouldn’t have got home in that race either, but the David Pipe-trained gelding could still be a high class two-mile chaser, with the change of scenery in the West Country seemingly bringing about some improvement (he is only eight after all), and he will have plenty of opportunity to prove it this term.

2nd November 2010