Entoucas

Entoucas did well to keep on as well as he did to finish fourth behind Daly Tiger in the Dan and Joan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse on Saturday. Joseph O’Brien’s horse adopted a good position early on in mid-division, but he was a little keener than ideal as the pace steadied going up the side of the course. He made a fairly bad mistake at the first fence in the back straight, and that may have affected his confidence, as he wasn’t fluent at his fences thereafter. Another fairly significant mistake at the fifth last fence, the second last before the home turn, knocked him back to eighth or ninth place and, while he still travelled fairly well at that point, he had given up a good position in a highly competitive handicap, and it was always going to be difficult to get back into it after that. Still only eighth or ninth as they turned for home, he couldn’t go with Daly Tiger when he kicked for home, but he stayed on well from the second last fence to take fourth place, just failing to catch the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup winner Chatham Street Lad for third.

It took Entoucas almost two seasons to get off the mark over hurdles, he didn’t win his maiden until February last year on his seventh attempt, but he ran some fine races in defeat over hurdles before that, including when second to Klassical Dream in his maiden hurdle at Leopardstown’s 2018 Christmas Festival. Runner-up in all his three chases before Saturday, including behind the highly talented Sizing Pottsie at Fairyhouse on his previous run, he is only seven, and he still has the potential to progress more over fences. This was just his fourth chase, and he has the potential to go beyond his handicap rating of 138 as he gets more fluent at his fences, which he should do as he gains in experience.
Fairyhouse 16^th January 2021