Backspin

I wouldn’t go losing faith in Backspin yet after he lost his unbeaten record was beaten into fourth place in the Neptune Investment Novices’ Hurdle race at Cheltenham last Saturday, a trial for the race of the same name at the Festival. They walked through the early stages of this race, the slow gallop wouldn’t have suited this Flemensfirth gelding at all who is a staying chaser through and through.

He travelled freely enough in the front rank and was left in front, a sitting duck, as they turned for home. Bobs Worth and Rock On Ruby came away from him up the hill, but they are both seriously progressive high class novices, now first and second favourites respectively for the Cheltenham race. Backspin did hang to his left on the run to the final flight, but it is easy to put that down to inexperience, and it certainly didn’t help that he was in front for so long. He travelled well through the race, as he has done in all his starts. He looked very impressive in winning a 25-runner Punchestown bumper, a Bangor novice hurdle and then the Challow Hurdle in the fog at Newbury by eight lengths from Court In Motion, who looked a high class prospect himself when absolutely sluicing up at Warwick next time from some decent sorts.

Backspin will be better suited by a faster pace and a greater emphasis on stamina. He will also be better suited to being held up in behind runners instead of racing on the pace. It may be that the Albert Bartlett rather than the Neptune is the race for him at the Festival, but he is still one to keep on side.

29th January 2011