Denemek ALTIN - Özgür

IT'S TIME FOR DIAMOND TO SPARKLE

Racing Ahead

November 2023

Paul Jacobs reveals the horses to look out for over the November meetings

With the Silver Trophy run at Chepstow in the middle of October and the Charlie Hall Chase come and gone at Wetherby by the time you read this column, I thought I would put into play a group of horses worth following in the 2023/24 National Hunt season and some further long range ante-post suggestions as well.

1: AURORA VEGA When you are bred as well as this filly is, then results will be expected, but that blood potential has already turned into racing reality following just the three runs under rules in bumpers for Willie Mullins.

Those wins in came at odds of 1/5, 1/7 and 2/13 suggest that all three victories were straightforward, the last of them in a Listed race at Gowran Park. That day she beat no less than five previous winners and did it in wonderfully fluent style under Patrick Mullins, merely nudged out when taking command just inside the quarter mile pole. By Walk In The Park out of the mighty Quevega, this athletic mare is already priced up as low as 14/1 for the Dawn Run Mares Novices Hurdle at the festival with only Dysart Enos (brilliant winner of the mares bumper at Aintree and also three from three) and Brighterdaysahead (unbeaten in two starts for Gordon Elliott) ahead of her in the ante-post listings.

She certainly has a huge engine judged on her initial season on the level and if she manages to handle a hurdle as well as her mum and dad did we could be in for a real treat this season.

2: DIAMOND RI