Crosspark

Crosspark battled on well to win the Eider Chase. Held up early on, he made nice progress at the end of the back straight, he moved into second place at the second last fence, and he stayed on strongly from there to hit the front on the run-in. Third in the Classic Chase at Warwick on his previous run, Caroline Bailey’s horse has had plenty of racing, but his last two runs, over the longest distances over which he has raced, have been up there with the best of his career.

The handicapper raised him by 7lb to a mark of 142 but, still only nine, we may not have got to the bottom of him yet over these extreme distances. He could be a Grand National horse for next season. In the interim, he will be of interest if he takes his chance in the Scottish or Irish Grand National this term, but the race for him could be the Midlands National at Uttoxeter, where he won a 3m 2f handicap chase in November by 16l. Actually, his record at Uttoxeter, a track at which course form is more important than it is at most tracks, reads 2341.

Newcastle, 23^rd February 2019