Cyrius Moriviere

Cyrius Moriviere was unlucky not to win the two-mile-three-furlong novices' chase at Doncaster last Monday.

Sent to the front from flagfall by David Bass, his jumping was fast and fluent, and he had his rivals in trouble from the top of the home straight. There was no sign of him coming back to his field, he was six lengths clear and had the race in the bag when his saddle slipped on the run to the second last fence, and he unseated his rider. He actually jumped the fence very well, as he had the previous 13, his rider was just unlucky.

It was a decent novices' chase, the first four home are all progressive novice chasers, lightly raced over fences, the winner Querry Horse is rated 135 and the third horse Hammersly Lake is rated 142, and Cyrius Moriviere would have beaten both of them well. Also, the winning time was good, just 0.14secs/furlong slower than Racing Post par, and Cyrius Moriviere would almost certainly have gone a fair bit faster.

Ben Pauling's horse has now run in three chases, and he has failed to complete in all three. He was probably beaten when he fell on his chasing bow at Doncaster in early December, but that race was won by Might Bite, and Might Bite is one of the best staying novice chasers around this season. He would have clocked a much faster time than Thistlecrack clocked in winning the King George had he not suffered that crashing fall at the final fence in the Feltham Chase. Also, the runner-up in that race, Premier Bond, was impressive in winning a novices' chase at Catterick on New Year's Day on his next run.

On his second chase, at Ludlow just before Christmas, Cyrius Moriviere unseated his rider at the first fence. It was just one of those things.

He could be under-rated now, he might be regarded as an unreliable conveyance with form figures FUU over fences, but that would not be an accurate assessment on the evidence of Monday's run. His jumping was efficient and assured. It looks like an asset as opposed to a liability. A progressive novice hurdler last season, he is probably at his best on goodish ground and on a flat track, which is probably why he goes so well at Doncaster. His record over hurdles on flat tracks on ground no worse than good to soft reads 211. He will be of interest now in another beginners' chase or novices' chase before stepping up in grade.

9^th January 2017

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