I’m not sure how many people will be in the same boat as me here, but one of the races I’m most looking forward to at Cheltenham is the Champion Bumper. I guess this is partly due to me being newer to the racing scene than many. Trying to work out the form of bumper horses and novice hurdlers in particular fascinates me. With the novice chasers you tend to have more of a background on the horses, although this isn’t always the case. This could potentially drift off to a completely different matter, so I’ll make sure I stick to bumper horses from this point on. I guess part of the appeal is this is just the start for these horses, and it’s exciting to think the best bumper horses could go on to be a star over the obstacles in the future. Because there isn’t a great deal of races in the calendar where the best bumper horses all meet we have a situation where we have a long list of horses that could all potentially be very smart. Perhaps I’m being rather sad here, but that just excites me massively. I’m in no stage to be assessing this year’s Champion Bumper just yet, but there have been several eye-catching performances of late so I thought I’d have a brief look at things.
New Year’s Eve In February
Possibly one of the most taking performances by a bumper horse came yesterday from New Year’s Eve at Market Rasen. Trainer John Ferguson has picked up some useful sorts and holds an impressive strike rate with his newcomers. He’d had several useful looking bumper winners, but the one that would appear to be his best is New year’s Eve. He was sent off 8/13 at Ludlow, so clearly there was plenty of positive vibes for this brilliantly-bred horse. He followed up that win with a dazzling display yesterday. He traveled strongly throughout and then just demolished his rivals with a scintillating turn of foot from just inside the three furlong marker. The way he pulled clear was perhaps the most impressive bumper performance I’ve seen, at least visually. Swinging Sultan stayed on gamely and must be one to follow too if New Year’s Eve is as good as it appears. Sultan has some nice form in his previous appearances and despite bumpers often being deceiving in quality I think it’s fair to say New Year’s Eve is a very smart horse.
Two Useful Bumper Horses At Navan
In what turned out to be an interesting day for bumper horses we also saw a couple of potential smart types at Navan. Sizing Gold got off the mark at the second time of asking, having finished behind the exciting Make Your Mark on debut. He showed a likeable attitude and looks the type to improve plenty more. He looks a big scopey type that will relish fences in time. Trainer Henry De Bromhead also likes him and that’s surely a good sign for the horse winning in the same colours as his brilliant Champion Chase hero Sizing Europe. It remains to be seen whether he will run at Cheltenham but he’s most certainly one to keep in the notepad. More impressive though, was the performance of runner up Defy Logic. Racing in the Magnier colours this horse traveled like the best and looked the likely winner. The ride he received was certainly questionable and the horse looked to have come under little exertions. To me he was the better horse in the race, and the fact he was giving 5lbs to the winner simply backs this up. Defy Logic could be another very smart type and joins Sizing Gold in my tracker for horses to look out for.
Which Horses Will Be Good Enough For The Champion Bumper
At this stage there’s little point in me attempting to work out the Champion Bumper and pinpoint likely winners. I suspect there will be plenty at the head of the market that won’t feature in the race. In terms of a betting proposition, there is little sense to me in getting involved until the market becomes NRNB. Yes, like any race there is the potential to get a better price but value is no good if your selection doesn’t line up at Cheltenham. Some trainers and owners aren’t a huge fan of the race, notably the Gigginstown operation who have a couple of potential top class horses in Don Cossack and Un Atout. I’m more than happy to wait til nearer the time when we know likely runners and then make my selections. In terms of what I’ve seen so far, Royal Guardsman and New Year’s Eve would be the two performances in the UK that have impressed me most. The Irish contingent looks mightily strong and it’s hard for me to really narrow that down as yet. Venture Capital’s debut run has worked out brilliantly and having been purchased by JP McManus he must be well regarded. Fickle Fortune looked potentially top notch on debut but the filly is likely to bypass Cheltenham. I’m also looking forward to seeing Dermot Weld’s Silver Concorde again who was third on debut. I believe this one is highly thought of but needs better ground to show what he can really do. He’s entered in a potentially hot bumper at Punchestown on Wednesday and that could reveal more.
This post could go on forever as there’s undoubtedly been plenty of other impressive looking performances. We have to remember that at this early stage of their careers horse can improve significantly, both physically and mentally. I’ve featured a few that have caught my eye. If there’s a bumper horse you think is destined for great things then feel free to share your thought in the comments section.