Yeah Man

Noted here after he finished second in a handicap chase at Ascot just before Christmas, Yeah Man stepped up on that performance when he stepped up in trip at Haydock last Saturday and landed the Grand National Trial. Haydock on heavy ground over an extreme trip is a specialist’s discipline, but Yeah Man coped with all of it really well, he stayed on strongly in his first-time cheekpieces to get the better of Warwick’s Classic Chase winner My Silver Lining, herself a strong stayer, the pair of them clear.

It looked likely that Gavin Cromwell’s horse would benefit from a greater stamina test than that presented by three miles on good to soft ground at Ascot, that proved to be the case here, and it opens up more options. The handicapper raised him to a mark of 140, and that will be a nice mark to take into the good staying handicap chases in the spring. The Irish National and/or the Bet365 Gold Cup would be good options now. Looking further ahead, as a seven-year-old now, it would be surprising if connections did not have next year’s Aintree Grand National on his radar already, a race in which Gavin Cromwell sent out the then-eight-year-old Vanillier to finish second last year.

Haydock, 17^th February 2024