Whatdeawant

Whatdeawant put up a game performance to win the first division of the two-and-a-half-mile maiden hurdle at Navan last Saturday. Settled nicely by Danny Mullins just behind the front rank, he travelled well and he jumped well for a hurdling debutant. Seventh of the leading group of seven down the back straight in a well-stretched-out field, he wasn’t great at the third last flight, and he came under a ride shortly thereafter. He moved into third place at the second last, but he still had about four lengths to find on the leaders Gracchus De Balme and Harald Hardrad at that point, and it didn’t look likely as he came under pressure on the run to the final flight. But he found lots for pressure and, still around four lengths behind Harald Hardrad as they landed over the last, he stayed on strongly up the run-in to join the leader with 100 yards to run, before going on to win by over two lengths.

It was a wholly likeable performance by Willie Mullins’ horse. The runner-up Harald Hardrad had been impressive in winning his bumper last month on his first run back after a long break, and the winning time was good, over two seconds faster than the second division of this race, and marginally faster too than the time that Ginto clocked in winning the Grade 2 Navan Novice Hurdle over the same course and distance later on the card. Actually, Sean and Bernardine Mulryan’s horse beat Ginto in a bumper on his racecourse debut at Fairyhouse last January, and he ran a big race in the Grade 2 bumper over two miles at the Dublin Racing Festival in February, staying on strongly from an improbable position, after appearing to get out-paced, to take third place behind his stable companion Kilcruit. This was his hurdling debut, and it was just his third race under all codes, so he has obvious scope for progression. Also, out of a bumper winner and a three-parts brother to Hardline, a Grade 1-winning chaser over two and a half miles, he shaped here again as if he could improve further for another step up in trip.
Navan, 4^th December 2021