Saint Roi

Saint Roi was entitled to win the Grade 3 Horse & Jockey Hotel Hurdle at Tipperary on Sunday, he was rated 8lb and more superior to his rivals going into the race, and he was sent off at odds-on, but you had to have been impressed with the manner of his victory. He travelled well through his race for Mark Walsh and, with the exception of a mistake at the last flight in the back straight, his jumping was slick and accurate. He moved up nicely on the outside on the run into the home straight and he easily came away from his rivals from the second last flight. You couldn’t really have hoped for much more from him on his seasonal debut.

JP McManus’ horse is obviously an exciting horse. He won the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in March on just his fourth ever run over hurdles. He beat his stable companion Aramon into second place that day, and Aramon won the Galway Hurdle in July off a mark of 155 and is now rated 163. Saint Roi raced off a mark of 137 in the County Hurdle, and he was rated 151 on Sunday morning, he will have to continue his progression if he is going to be competitive at the highest level, but he is only five and he has raced just five times over hurdles. Also, it is interesting that trainer Willie Mullins mentioned the Morgiana Hurdle as a possible target after Sunday’s race. He also mentioned the WKD Hurdle at Down Royal, an intermediate hurdle, and that looks like a good next step for him now.

Tipperary, 4^th October 2020

© Sportinglife.com, 5^th October 2020