Eye-Catchers To Follow This Summer

Paul Ferguson with his jumpers to watch in the coming weeks

- Paul Ferguson

Due to the prolonged break from National Hunt racing from mid-March – when the Charlie Longsdontrained Glencassley won the concluding bumper at Wetherby – to 1 July when jumps racing resumed, the action since has been of better quality than we are often used to through the summer months. The break was shorter in Ireland, where there has also been some notable performances, and here are my recent National Hunt eye-catchers. I’ve actually included a couple of horses who won on the Flat in Ireland recently, but are sure to be seen under both codes in the near future:

WONDER LAISH (Charles Byrnes) – 26th June (3rd)

The Grade 3 Grimes Hurdle was fought out between two familiar names, with Aramon quickening up well to beat Petit Mouchoir, while back in third was the returning Wonder Laish, who was having his first start since February 2019. A decent three-year-old when trained by William Haggas (won an Ascot handicap off 87 in September 2015), he won a Premier Handicap in his first season for his current connections and won two handicap hurdles in the winter of 2018. Ridden patiently, he finished well up the straight and it is likely that the Galway Hurdle is the target. He hasn’t got an official mark at the time of writing, but was rated 144 before his lengthy lay-off, so it will be interesting to see how the handicapper assesses this return.

SHANROE (Karl Thornton) – 26th June (1st)