Presenting Copper
Presenting Copper battled on gallantly to land the concluding two-mile handicap hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday. This was her first run over hurdles since November 2007, during which time she has been steadily progressing over fences, but she showed here that she has lost none of her fluency over her hurdles. The hurdles rating of 127 off which she ran on Saturday clearly under-estimates her ability over the smaller obstacles (she is rated 135 over fences). She would be a really interesting contender for the Totesport Trophy if trainer Philip Hobbs allows her take her chance, and that seems to be the way he is thinking.
As that is an early-closing race, she can't be re-assessed before it, and the penalty that she gets for this win still leaves her below her chase mark, but almost guarantees that she will get a run in the race. She has the speed and the guts that you need for a Totesport Trophy, she handles good ground and soft ground, and she is trained by Philip Hobbs who, although never having won the race, has had eight placed runners in the last 10 years.
24th January, 2009
Back