Days Hotel

It was difficult not to be really impressed with the performance that Days Hotel put up in winning the Grade 2 Hilly Way Chase at Cork on Sunday on his first run for over a year.

Henry de Bromhead’s horse pecked fairly badly at the first fence and he screwed in the air a little over the second, but he warmed up as the race developed and he jumped really well after that. He was wide the whole way and had to come four wide into the home straight, but he jumped the last three fences well, quickening up nicely from the second last, and he drew clear of Realt Dubh over the last and up to the line with Blazing Tempo well back.

Days Hotel was a really exciting novice chaser in a truncated season last term, he really impressed in his beginners’ chase at Punchestown before going back there to beat the talented Lucky William in the Craddockstown Novice Chase, the runner-up proving the merit of that performance by winning the Grade 1 Ryanair Novice Chase over the same course and distance at the Punchestown Festival in April.

There is every chance that Days Hotel can make up for lost time now. He may need soft ground to be at his best, but he is high class when he has it. Also, his rider Phillip Enright said afterwards that he was just lugging to his right most of the way around, maybe there is nothing in that, but he has been kept exclusively to right-handed tracks under Rules so far in his career, and it may be that he needs to go this way around. He has the physique to stay further than two miles too, though two miles on testing ground obviously suits him really well, and he will be of major interest now wherever he runs through the winter, especially when he races right-handed.

9th December 2012