Rigidity

The Edward O’Grady-trained Rigidity put up a nice performance to win the juvenile maiden hurdle at Gowran Park on Saturday. Settled in just behind the leaders in the early stages, he made his ground easily around the home turn, took it up on the run to the final flight and came right away to win impressively from Devil’s Bit, with the rest of the field stretched out behind.

This may not have been that bad a maiden for this time of the year. The runner-up achieved a rating of 80 on the flat when with David Wachman, and hadn’t shaped too badly on his only previous run over hurdles, over Saturday’s course and distance back in November, a race in which Luddenmore, fifth in Saturday’s race, finished second before he had gone on to get to within two lengths of the useful Gigginstown House and Fred Winter contender Plan A. More impressive than the substance of it, however, was the manner in which it was achieved. Rigidity was still running away on the run to the second last, and Andrew McNamara hardly had to even give him a squeeze before he came away readily. The nine-length winning margin could easily have been twice or three times that.

A son of Indian Ridge, a half-brother to Derby runner-up Dragon Dancer, Thomas Barr’s gelding achieved a rating of 95 on the flat when trained by Henry Cecil, winning twice and just getting beaten a nose in a good 10-furlong handicap at York’s May meeting last year. He did win on fast ground so, while he handled conditions at Gowran on Saturday well, he should have no difficulty coping with better ground. He is a classy recruit to hurdles, he jumps well and he seems to have a good attitude to his new role. As well as that, the time that he clocked on Saturday was almost eight seconds faster than the time that Dunguib clocked in landing the Red Mills Trial Hurdle over the same course and distance a half an hour earlier. They didn’t go a great gallop in the early stages of the Red Mills race, but it is almost certain that Rigidity could have gone significantly faster if he had been pressed harder. Connections are talking about skipping Cheltenham and going to Aintree instead. That is unusual for an Edward O’Grady-trained horse, but he did disappoint in a handicap at Glorious Goodwood last July, so perhaps connections feel that he may not be suited by going up and down hills. He will be of interest wherever he turns up next, even if that is in the Grade 1 Matalan Anniversary Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree, where he could be a little under the radar, perhaps taking on some of the big guns coming from the Triumph Hurdle. He could be very good.

19th February 2011

© The Irish Field, 26th February 2011