Ronaldo Des Mottes

There was plenty of encouragement to be taken from Ronaldo Des Mottes’ run in the Class 2 two-mile handicap hurdle at Sandown on Saturday on his first run for 21 months.

David Pipe’s horse was weak in the market on course but he travelled well around the outside in the hands of Tom Bellamy, and he looked a big danger early in the home straight before the lack of a recent run seemed to tell. He wasn’t advantaged by being held up in a steadily-run race – the time was nearly five seconds slower than the time that Melodic Rendezvous took to win the Tolworth Hurdle over the same trip 35 minutes earlier, and the first two home were the first two for most of the race – and he probably derived little or no benefit from racing out wide given where the first two raced.

He loomed up travelling strongly early in the home straight and was just two lengths down over the second last hurdle before lack of match fitness counted against him, although his rider wasn’t at all hard on him once it was obvious that he couldn’t win. This was encouraging though, and he is well handicapped on old form, just 2lb higher than the mark off which he was second to Get Me Out Of Here in the 2010 Totesport Trophy/Betfair Hurdle. The same race this season would be a viable target now.

5th January 2013