Win Some Lose Some
The Brown Lad Handicap Hurdle at Naas on Sunday could be a race from which the protagonists could be worth following for a little while. The winner The Busy Fool was good, he made all the running and he kept on well to win his second race over hurdles on just his fifth attempt, and his first run since April. Sir Allen was short of room on the inside at the second last flight, but he kept on well from there, going faster than all his rivals through each of the last two furlongs. Gaoth Chuil arrived there at the second last flight and she looked a big danger to all, while Park Of Kings came from a long way back to mount his challenge on the near side. Any or all of them could be worth following, but if you had to pick one horse from the race, it is probably Win Some Lose Some.
Padraig Roche's horse was a little slow over the first flight of hurdles, with the result that he was well back in the field from early. Still 10th of the 11 runners as they rounded the home turn, he was a little short of room on the inside and had to be switched. He came under a ride at that point and, taken wide by Mark Walsh into the home straight, it took him a little while to pick up. He was still only eighth on the run between the final two flights, but he stayed on well over the last and up the hill to take fourth place, beaten just three lengths in the end.
This was a race that was not run at a fast pace, and in which it was an advantage to be prominent. Winner of a handicap hurdle at Clonmel on his previous run off a mark of 116, JP McManus' horse was racing here off a mark of 124, and he proved that he was up to that mark. A 1lb hike is fine, he is progressive and he has the potential to go beyond a mark of 125. He is only five, and he could be a horse for one of the top handicap hurdles now. Home-bred out of a daughter of the owner's top-class mare Like-A-Butterly, winner of the Mildmay Chase as well as the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and the Irish Champion Hurdle, he could improve again for a step up in trip.
Naas, 10th November 2024
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