Irish Pointers winner Masked Man (7/4)

The three day meeting at Chepstow got underway on Friday and the performance of the day was supplied by Rules debutant Masked Man in the second division of the two miles novice hurdle. Highlighted in Declan Phelan's Irish Pointers section of One Jump Ahead, the four year old is owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede and he had reportedly been shining in his work since joining Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies. Positively ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, the Masked Marvel gelding dictated from the outset jumping soundly and bounding clear after the second last. A twelve lengths victor, the winning time was around a second and a half quicker than the first division. Very much a chaser in the making, he looks a smashing prospect and a terrific addition to OJA.

The feature race at the Welsh venue was the Grade 2 Persian War Novices' Hurdle and it was won by the progressive Sticktotheplan (15/2) who was having his first run for Olly Murphy. Rated 135 and previously handled by Cormac Farrell in Ireland, the Great Pretender gelding had won a Listed novice hurdle at the Galway Festival in late July prior to being bought privately. Patiently ridden by champion jockey Sean Bowen and fitted with a hood for the first time, the five year old travelled strongly and crept into contention. Leading before the last, he stayed on strongly to win decisively by four lengths. Featured in Olly Murphy's interview in Talking Trainers, the ex-Irish gelding looks a good addition to the stable and it is not difficult to envisage him contesting something like the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival next spring.

I am working for Racing TV at York's final meeting of the year on Saturday with the Coral Sprint the highlight. The six furlongs handicap hasn't been run on good ground since 2017 or good to firm since 2003. There are 102 runners declared for the seven race card and it promises to be another exciting afternoon on the Knavesmire.  

If you haven't ordered a copy of One Jump Ahead and the Updates, please head to the Publications section of the book. Masked Man is hopefully the first of many potentially smart prospects being unveiled in the coming weeks.