Captains Nephew

Captains Nephew only finished seventh in the Foxrock Chase at Navan on Saturday, but he ran much better than the bare form of the run suggests. Prominent from early along the inside, he travelled well through his race and he arrived there on the far side in the home straight in the front rank. He and the winner Sa Fureur were the only horses who were still on the bridle after they had jumped the third last fence. Fourth over the second last, he came under a ride at that point from Tiernan Power Roche, but he just couldn't go on from that. He was tired jumping the final fence, and he faded on the run up the hill, finishing seventh in the end, 13 lengths behind the winner.

It was still a fine run by Philip Rothwell's horse on his first run since May. He was progressive last term, reaching his zenith when he battled on well to get the better of Mount Frisco, the pair of them miles clear, to land a listed novices' handicap chase at Fairyhouse's Easter meeting. He is rated 131 now, 9lb higher than his rating then, but he still has the potential to out-perform that rating now this season. It may be that lack of a recent run caught him out on Saturday, or it may have been that the two-and-a-half-mile trip stretched his stamina. Either way, we know that around two miles on soft or heavy ground suits him well, and he will be of interest when he encounters those conditions again. He could be a horse for the Dan and Joan Moore Handicap Chase back over an extended two miles in mid-January at Fairyhouse, the track at which he won that listed novices' handicap chase last March.

Navan, 7^th December 2024