Cruchain

On his first run for Dai Burchell, Cruchain did very well to get so close in the Class 3 extended two-and-a-half mile handicap chase on Kempton’s Saturday card given the way the race panned out for him. He made one or two mistakes early, dropping to last after getting in too close to the fence in front of the stands on the first circuit. He had to make ground from the rear but did so early on the second circuit, tacking himself onto the leading group turning into the back straight. He again jumped slowly at a couple down the back, but was quickly soon back on an even keel going well each time. Will Kennedy just allowed the two leaders, Safari Adventures and Polyfast, to get away from him around the home turn, which is usually not a good strategy at Kempton. He was three lengths behind turning into the straight, and the same distance behind after jumping the second last, but he put in a strong effort coming to the last and a quick jump there put him in with a chance, but he just couldn’t quite muster any more to get past the front two, who fought out a really close finish, eventually going down by a head and half a length.

The time of the race was very good, the second fastest comparative time on the day behind the King George. It is interesting that Cruchain was able to run his best race for some time on his debut for a new trainer. He was previously with Jonjo O’Neill, and he is well handicapped on old form. (He was rated 10lb higher than his new mark.) He is not obviously progressive, indeed his previous run had been a fall in a selling hurdle, but he should be worth keeping an eye on next time as he seems to have been freshened up by the move to South Wales.

15th January 2011

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