The Lovely Man
The Lovely Man was good in winning the three-mile handicap chase at Navan on Sunday. Held up through the early stages of the race by Keith Donoghue, he was still 10th of the 11 remaining runners as they raced towards the fence before the home turn. He travelled well into the home straight, and he made good ground among horses on the run to the third last fence. He picked up in a share of second place at the second last, led on the run to the last, and he cleared away on the run-in from his stable companion Evies Vladamir, who in turn finished nicely ahead of Showurappreciation in third.
Gavin Cromwell's horse did well to come from well back in the field in a race that was not run at a strong pace, as evidenced by a finishing speed of 114% of overall speed. He saw out this three-mile trip well to record his first win, he finished off his race strongly, and he left the impression that he had a fair bit more in hand. The handicapper raised him by 9lb to a mark of 123, but you would have been expecting a hike of that magnitude at least. He is only six and this was just his fourth run over fences. He didn't win in 10 attempts over hurdles, but, a half-brother to Coral Trophy winner and Scottish Grand National third Our Power, he has the potential to be much better over fences. This was just his second run of the season, his second run for Gavin Cromwell, and there could be a fair bit more to come.
Navan, 14th December 2025
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