Lots Of Memories

Lots Of Memories put up a nice performance to win what looked beforehand like a good beginners’ chase at Navan on Sunday.

Settled towards the outside and just behind the leaders through the early stages of the race by Paul Townend, he travelled and jumped well down the back straight. Kept to the wide outside, he pinged the last ditch and moved up to dispute the lead with long-time leader Jarry D’Honneur as they straightened up for the third last fence. He picked up well from there, took up the running from Jarry D’Honneur as the pair of them moved clear, and stayed on really well over the last two fences to come clear of his rivals, with Fine Rightly keeping on well to retain the runner-up spot.

Paul Fahey’s horse was entitled to win this, but he won it well. He was a really progressive novice hurdler last season, when he rounded off his campaign by finishing a close-up third behind Beat That and Don Poli in the Grade 1 three-mile novices’ hurdle at the Punchestown Festival. He was a little unlucky that day too, he ran out of racing room a little on the run to the second last flight. That was a good race, it was a really good performance. The front three were clear, and among the vanquished were Apache Jack, Shanahan’s Turn and Very Wood.

This was just his third chase. He had travelled well in Shanahan’s Turn’s race at Punchestown in November, but he stopped very quickly there, and it later emerged that he had broke a blood vessel. Sunday’s performance was much more like it, and it was over two miles, a trip that should really be short of his best. His two best performances over hurdles were over three miles, and he will be of interest stepped up to that trip again now over fences. He holds an entry in the Topaz Chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival, and he would be an interesting outsider if he took his chance in that.

14th December 2014