Mobaasher

Mobaasher ran a whole lot better than his finishing position in fifth place in the four-miler at Cheltenham suggests. He is never a horse who impresses with the manner in which he travels, but he was travelling and jumping well when Tinakellylad fell in front of him at the first fence down the back straight, badly hampering him, causing him to lose ground and momentum at a crucial point in the race. He is not the type of horse who will recover easily from something like that, he really needs things to drop his way, and he was on his head after that to make up the ground. He met a couple of fences wrong, but the manner in which he still stayed on all the way to the line to take fifth place was most encouraging. He is much better than this, and he may be under-rated now when he next runs. He was a top staying hurdler two seasons ago, and he wasn’t bad last season, finishing seventh of 14 in the World Hurdle, and rated 157 over the smaller obstacles at his peak. He is rated 139 over fences, and that could seriously under-estimate his ability. He is still only seven, he has raced just five times over fences, he is at his best with an extreme test of stamina, although not necessarily on bottomless ground, and he will be of interest wherever he runs next.

17th March 2010