Deal Done

Deal Done was not proven over the three and a quarter miles of the Kim Muir at Cheltenham, and the manner in which he raced so freely in this first time visor (replacing the usual cheekpieces) didn’t really give himself a chance to get the trip. That said, when Junior blew past him just before the turn in it looked as though he would be swallowed up and that he would finish well out of the places, but he did remarkably well to battle on and hold off Galaxy Rock for third.

Although he was readily beaten by Junior, Dessie Hughes’s gelding jumped from fence to fence under Robbie McNamara for much of this contest, really tearing the race to pieces on the second circuit such was the furious pace he set. Junior’s rider Jamie Codd eased his mount off Deal Done approaching the top of the hill, presumably aware of the frenetic pace they were going, and although Junior was by far the best horse in the race and a worthy winner, there is no doubt that that manoeuvre exaggerated the margin of victory quite considerably as Deal Done really did run himself into the ground.

In all probability Deal Done was the second best horse in the race, but the way he raced he didn’t do himself justice. He managed to finish second in the Grade 1 Powers Gold Cup last season over two and a half miles. He seemed to appreciate this better ground, and he is worth another try at the trip on good ground as long as he is ridden with a little more restraint. He would also be interesting ridden aggressively like this over two and a half miles.

17th March 2011