Rowland Ward

Rowland Ward only finished fifth in the Grade 2 Triumph Hurdle Trial in the end, but that doesn’t tell the story of the race. He moved into the home straight with every chance, but he was squeezed out of it on the stands rail just when he was moving into a position from which he could mount a challenge. That ended his chance, you can put a line through the form.

He had moved into the race nicely at that point, and he travelled better than most when they straightened up. The winner Galahad Quest wasn’t travelling as well as him at the top of the home straight so, while it is impossible to know how it would have panned out had he had a clear run, he could have gone close. An 83-rated horse on the flat, he stayed on well to win at Kempton over Christmas on just his second run over hurdles, and he remains an interesting recruit. Rated 133, he could be an interesting horse for the Fred Winter.

Cheltenham, 25^th January 2020