Call Me A Legend

Call Me A Legend stayed on nicely up the straight to finish fourth to Aigle D’Or in the Jim Joel Memorial Trophy Handicap Chase over two miles and a furlong at Newbury last Friday. Having been ridden out the back, she got further behind the leaders when having to avoid the stricken Rivaliste at the sixth and then jumped the next couple quite sketchily herself. This was her first run though for 307 days and Wayne Hutchinson wasn’t hard on her at all, he didn’t put a stick to her, just rode her out with hands and heels and she finished with her ears pricked, having made some nice progress up the straight, giving the distinct impression she will come on a good deal for this outing.

Alan King’s mare was put up here after winning on her chasing debut at Ascot last January, where she jumped very accurately and had far too much for her rivals. She hadn’t run in the interim, but she will be of interest now off this mark of 126, especially if she is stepped up in trip such was the way she was running on here – she is already a winner over two miles and three furlongs over timber. She is another one of those Alan King horses who could be well handicapped.

This was a most encouraging run from the mare. The front two could be well-handicapped horses: the winner, Aigle D’Or, was a Listed winner on the flat in France, had won a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Cheltenham in January 2008 and was only just touched off in the Greatwood there two seasons ago off a mark of 140, yet was running here off a mark of just 129 following a barren spell last season. The second horse, Matuhi, seems to have benefited from the switch to the Pipe yard and ran every bit as well here, if not better, as he had the previous week when winning easily at Ascot. The two were always going to be very difficult to beat and Alan King’s mare ran very well in the circumstances.

26th November 2010