3 Unexposed Horses to Follow

Over the next few weeks and months I hope to post a number of these pieces on either horses who are unexposed, in the hope that when they reappear they can make their mark, or those that look very favourably handicapped and may open up a value price. Here are the first 3, all of whom I believe to be unexposed and have plenty more to come:

 

Im Fraam Govan

As you may have guessed from his name, this horse is by Fraam; not a sire one would automatically assume to be producing National Hunt horses. Another intriguing fact is that he is (or at least was when he made his debut) trained by George Baker, who is a renowned flat trainer and can’t have many NH horses in his yard. But believe me when I tell you this horse is exciting! I’m a regular visitor to Worcester Racecourse but it is not often I return home having seen a horse I’d recommend following through the winter and that could make a Cheltenham Festival horse, but this one certainly took my breath away back in May. Owned by Sir Alex Ferguson (pictured below) who has a few horses with Paul Nicholls, he was subject to a big gamble (SP of 7/2 having opened up 16/1 in places) and justified the faith shown in him by taking the race under Conor O’Farrell in the cheekiest fashion. His main rival being Paul Nicholls’ Easter Day, Daryl Jacob was hard at work from a fair way out aboard the Ditcheat inmate and just yards from the line, with the pair neck and neck, O’Farrell didn’t move a muscle as his mount won by half a length. Im Fraam Govan was giving Easter Day 3lb in weight, but it was the nature of the ride that suggests this is a serious animal as his jockey looked supremely confident in not needing to touch him, even though not taking the lead until inside the final furlong and still not shaking him up once taking a threadbare lead. The runner up had previously finished 3^rd at Chepstow behind Melodic Rendezvous who finished 2^nd in the Gr1 Champion Bumper at Punchestown next time out behind Cheltenham Festival Champion Bumper winner Champagne Fever. Melodic Rendezvous then reappeared on his hurdling debut at Cheltenham on Friday to take a very competitive Novice Hurdle, confirming the promise he had shown in both previous starts. The form of that Chepstow race looks solid and Easter Day further franked the Worcester race by winning his hurdles debut on the bridle by 12 lengths (the horse he beat is now rated 117 over hurdles and 119 over fences as he won a chase next time out) and even further confirmed his ability in impressively winning a Class 2 Novice Hurdle at Ascot (beating a double winner who is rated 139). Given how well the form of the Worcester race is working out (although there was nothing of substance in behind, that’s to be expected in a race at the course and the pair were 12 lengths clear of the 3^rd and both only 4yos), it is fair to assume that Im Fraam Govan will be a horse very much worth following closely when he next runs, whether he is saved for one of the big spring bumpers or embarks on a hurdling career. In any case, he is a fantastic prospect for his connections and they will no doubt be winning some nice races with him.

 

Turanjo Bello

Another horse whose form ties closely with that of recent Cheltenham winner Melodic Rendezvous is Philip Hobbs’ Turanjo Bello. Having finished 2^nd in a Point he finished 2^nd behind the aforementioned in the Chepstow race in which Easter Day finished 3^rd. The way in which Easter Day has advertised the form is outlined above, whilst the 4^th and 5^th have both won a race since which solidifies the strength in depth of the race. Turanjo Bello then bumped into another very smart horse when finishing 2^nd by ¾ of a length behind Kim Bailey’s exciting youngster Twelve Roses, again back at Chepstow. That rival was in receipt of 13lb that day and although disappointing next time and now injured for the season, he is very highly regarded by his handler. No No Charlie was just a head behind Turanjo Bello and he came out and effortlessly won by 7 lengths next time, before finishing 2^nd to Taquin Du Seuil. Although beaten a fair way by the Jonjo O’Neil horse, he is a star in the making (he narrowly lost out to My Tent Or Yours when giving weight away next time before easily taking a Gr2 event on his only start since) so it is still a creditable run and the 3^rd was another 12 lengths back and won by 27 lengths in a poor Maiden Hurdle next time out. The 4^th behind No No Charlie in Turanjo Bello’s race was Big Society who was beaten less than a length in both of his 2 starts since, giving an even more solid look to the form. Turanjo Bello hasn’t been seen since that race in April, but will surely be worth following in staying Novice Hurdles when he does reappear (he is by Turgeon) and looks another nice horse to have for his trainer Philip Hobbs  (pictured below) and owner Diana Whateley.

Nuts N Bolts

The final of these three horses to follow is a very promising novice chaser named Nuts N Bolts who is in the care of Northern trainer Lucinda Russell. He won a bumper first time out, then followed that up with a creditable 3^rd under a penalty before flopping (understandably given his preferred conditions) when upped in grade for the Gr2 bumper at Aintree. He was then put away and returned 8 months later, taking a Novice Hurdle at Newcastle by 5 lengths before giving Super Duty (who won impressively at Cheltenham on Saturday) a hard race and looking like he might win before that rival fell at the last in another Novice Hurdle at Ayr. He was again put away, presumably to grow up and mature, before returning in an Intermediate Hurdle at the start of October. However, it is over fences that this son of Marju will be seen to best effect, and he subsequently made his chase debut at Carlisle, though interestingly over 2m. Having raced prominently he was beaten a fair way in the end, but this run can be completely ignored as he wants a trip and will almost certainly improve a ton for that run when taking in a race over a longer distance. On that note, he is entered off an opening mark of 128 in a 2m4f Handicap Chase at Newcastle on Saturday and I’d expect him to take all the beating. He loves soft ground and although it’s heavy there at the moment I’d say he’ll be fine in it and will be getting on each way (he should be a fair price) as soon as the markets open on Friday. He’s is only a 6yo and his trainer has publicly stated he is a nice staying type and that “we're quite excited about him because his form of last season is pretty solid and he looks like he's going to improve again over fences but further than two miles next time."

 

 

Hopefully these 3 will prove fruitful to follow, and there will be plenty more posts similar to this one over the next couple of weeks and months, with a particular focus in the New Year on well handicapped horses who are likely to be targeting races at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Happy Days!