Irish Pointers winner Soomaroy

Former champion trainer Nicky Henderson toasted his 75th birthday with a brace of winners at Hereford on Wednesday. They included Soomaroy (10/11) who landed the first division of the two miles maiden hurdle. Featured in the Irish Pointers section in OJA, the No Risk At All gelding had finished runner-up on his Rules debut at Ascot last month and didn't have to improve to go one better here. Pushed along turning for home, the Seven Barrows runner led before the final flight before keeping on well on the run-in. A two and a quarter lengths scorer, the four year old doesn't look a top notcher but it will be a surprise if he can't add to his tally during the second half of the season. I suspect he will improve again when tackling further and could be one for the Listed Sidney Banks Memorial Novices' Hurdle at Huntingdon in February. 

The disappointment of the race was French import Las Canals who trailed in last of the nine finishers. Beaten around 60 lengths, his performance is a concern for the overall form of his stable who continue to struggle. It is well documented that the Greenall / Guerriero operation suffered with strangles during August and the team are reportedly four to six weeks behind compared to this time last year. The yard's monthly tally's for October (4 from 38), November (3 from 58) and December (1 from 9) don't make for good viewing, especially with one of their stable stars set to make his belated reappearance on Saturday.