Interview with Tim Easterby

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In addition to the Festival Update, I am continuing to work on Ahead On The Flat and spent most of Friday typing up an interview with Tim Easterby, whom I spoke to on Thursday afternoon. The Great Habton team had another very successful season in 2020 with 94 winners, including Royal Ascot success courtesy of high-class sprinter Art Power. Regular subscribers will be aware that Tim has supplied us with some very useful two year olds during the last couple of seasons. Lampang won his first two outings in 2019 and Winter Power developed into a smart youngster last year winning four times, including the Listed Rosebery Stakes at Ayr followed by the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes. The good news is that Tim has once again pointed me in the right direction regarding the pick of the new crop of his two year olds for 2021. The interview includes around 55 horses and there are a handful of juveniles amongst them. 

On the track, Striking A Pose won the opening novice hurdle at Exeter on Friday and looks a good long-term prospect. Highlighted as a horse to follow by my Racing TV colleague Jonathan Neesom in his English Pointers section of One Jump Ahead, the Colin Tizzard trained gelding had won a novices' handicap hurdle at Wincanton in early December off a mark of 117. Absent since and subsequently raised thirteen pounds, the Getaway gelding never came out of second gear to follow up here and may have booked his place in next month's EBF Final at Sandown. As discussed, the two and a half miles event will be a very competitive affair with the likes of Karl Philippe, Patroclus and Shang Tang also possible opponents to the progressive five year old. Longer-term, he will make a smashing chaser and is one to look forward to.