Peveril

Mentioned here before after he won at Leicester in November, Peveril had been off the track for two and a half months, but the wait was worthwhile when he went in again in a similar contest at Warwick on Saturday. The race fell apart a little, with favourite Kennel Hill planting himself and Roko Dancer being niggled along going past the winning post first time, but Peveril still did it really well, conceding a 7lb penalty to all but one of his rivals. He travelled well, he jumped well, he was going so well that Andrew Tinkler allowed him stride on down the back straight, and he came home largely unchallenged, posting a really impressive win.

This was just Peveril’s fourth ever run on the racetrack and just his second start over hurdles. A son of Presenting from a family that stayed well, he has now won one of his bumpers and both of his hurdles races, he has won on fast ground and on soft ground, and he has won over two miles and over two and a half. He is a really exciting novice chaser for next year. In the interim, he remains of interest over hurdles, he is hugely progressive and he may be even better over further and on better ground in the spring. A handicap rating of 135 may not over-estimate his ability if he were to go down that route.

13th February 2010