Racing Pulse

Conditions were really testing at Chepstow on Saturday by the time the three-mile novices' handicap chase was run, but Racing Pulse got his career back on track with a game performance to win it.

Always travelling and jumping well for Jonathan Burke on the far side of the gloom, he moved nicely up behind the leaders Jennie's Surprise and favourite Subtle Grey on the run to the third last fence. Challenging between the two leaders, he joined Subtle Grey in front on the run to the final fence, jumped that fence quickly and stayed on really strongly up the run-in to win well.

This was more like it from Rebecca Curtis' horse. One for one and highly regarded as a point-to-pointer, he won his bumper for Michael Winters at his first attempt, and he won his novices' hurdle on his first attempt for John Quinn, he didn't quite live up to expectations after that as a novice hurdler. Off the track from April 2014 until his debut this term for Rebecca Curtis and his first run over fences at Chepstow in October, he was well beaten there, and again on his second run at Bangor at the end of October, but both of those runs were over two and a half miles. He was always going to appreciate a step back up in trip.

He was given a nice break since then, however, and he wasn't weak in the market on Saturday on his first run since then. He seemed to really appreciate the test of stamina that three miles on heavy ground at Chepstow presented, and that makes sense. He always shaped like a stayer as a hurdler, and he got stronger on Saturday as the race developed. He beat a useful horse of Donald McCain's in Subtle Grey and, although the winning time was not good - and that was with four fences omitted - he did win well, and the ground was deteriorating continually as the day was progressing.

The handicapper has raised him 9lb to a mark of 139, but that is fair. He has just turned seven and this was just his third chase, so he has lots of scope to progress now. He does appreciate a test of stamina, so he will be of interest again now on soft ground over three miles or even over further.

9^th January 2016

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