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PUFFIN BILLY was a bit keen in the bumper and I kept a lid on him early, but he’s got plenty of pace and won like a good horse. He’s from a very good family and Oliver Sherwood will win good novice hurdles with him after this.
Last edited by Sprinter; 6 November 2012, 10:52 AM.
With two of the above having failed to complete and another seemingly regressive Puffin Billy is included as a horse who should reap more immediate rewards.
There were any number of impressive winning performances but none more so than that produced by Oliver Sherwood's charge in the Inkerman London National Hunt Maiden Hurdle.
Regarded as the best prospect that the Lambourn handler has had for many a year, the four year old didn't disappoint on his hurdling bow having won two bumpers by wide margins.
An attempt to devalue the form could be made with a 150-1 shot chasing him home and his main market rival failing to live up to expectations but it was hard not to be impressed with the manner of his victory.
He tanked through the early stages of the contest and it seemed impossible that he'd have anything left at the business end as a result but he still only needed to be shaken up to win on the bit and it will be desperately disappointing if he can't make his mark at a higher level.
Puffin Billy, who is likely to start at odds-on in the Kennel Gate Novice Hurdle, was one of the most impressive winners of a maiden hurdle this season when he won at Newbury last month. He is also the first horse from Sherwood's yard for several seasons with obvious potential to succeed at the highest level, which would have seemed absurd back in the late 80s and early 90s, when he saddled six Cheltenham Festival winners in nine years.
Those winners included The West Awake, who won the SunAlliance Novice Hurdle (now the Neptune) and the RSA Chase in successive years and is still the only horse to complete the double. Aldino, Rebel Song, Coulton and Young Pokey won at the meeting, too, while Large Action, Cruising Altitude and Arctic Call contributed major wins for the stable.
Sherwood looked destined to be the champion trainer one day. Instead, he drifted towards the edge of the radar as National Hunt's power base condensed into the huge strings of trainers like Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson.
"Those were good times," he says. "But The West Awake, Rebel Song and Cruising Altitude were all owed by Christopher and Maggie Heath, and I had 17 horses for them at one stage. He got out [of racing] after the [collapse of] Barings, so to go from 17 to nought was quite hard.
"You don't forget how to train, it's like a footballer who can't score goals, it's confidence as well and it's very important for the horse to get confidence too. You're only as good as the horses you've got and without the ammunition you can't win the big races."
Sherwood admires the success of the huge modern yards, but has no wish to share their approach. "It's factory farming a little bit, but they do a super job," he says. "I couldn't train 200 horses even if I had them, I couldn't do it and wouldn't want to do it. I think if I trained 200 horses now, I'd be in my grave a lot earlier than I probably should be.
"The big football teams are getting bigger, the big supermarkets are swallowing up the small people, and the middlemen suffer. If you've got a guy who's in the city and making good money and wants to buy some horses, where do they go to? They go to Nicky or Paul. But I do think it's changing a little bit in that some owners want to be slightly bigger fish in a slightly smaller pond."
In March, it will be 18 years since Sherwood's last winner at the Cheltenham Festival, but Puffin Billy will have an entry in both the Supreme Novice Hurdle and Neptune Novice Hurdle. Barry Geraghty takes over from Leighton Aspell, who is serving a ban for his ride on Furrows, and it will be a surprise if he is beaten. "Every trainer will tell you that they wake up each morning hoping to see the glint of a superstar in the yard," Sherwood says. "This is hopefully one more step in the right direction."
"I don't want him to have too many races on heavy ground," said Sherwood. "He'll have entries in both the two-mile (Supreme) and two-and-a-half (Neptune) at Cheltenham and it will depend on the ground."
PUFFIN BILLY (37) won the Grade 2 Kennel Gate Novices Hurdle at Ascot without being extended. He lobbed along in last place, cruised through to join the runner up just after entering the straight. Thereafter his jockey merely had to sit on him almost motionless for Puffin Billy to coast five lengths clear on the run in.
The time Puffin Billy clocked was three lengths a mile off what's Grade 1 class for a novice hurdler. But I have little doubt he could have extended his margin enough to earn a Grade 1 rating if he'd had a rival to push him in the closing stages.
Puffin Billy is a good-bodied, strong, proper jumping sort that has already shown he stays further than two miles. He looks likely to improve when going up to two and a half miles but his trainer, Oliver Sherwood, says he may well end up running him in the Supreme Novices rather than the Neptune at the Cheltenham Festival if the ground is soft.
So far Puffin Billy has won all his four races easily by wide margins. It will be very interesting to see what he can do when facing stronger opposition.
PUFFIN BILLY ATR Tracker impressed me when we won a bumper together at Ascot in early November and he’s developing into a very smart hurdler. He won the Grade 2 Mitie Kennel Gate Novices' Hurdle at Ascot on the Friday before Christmas over two miles very easily and I was pleased with the way he’s settling down now because he was a bit keen when I rode him before. Two miles is fine at the moment but he’d have no problem staying two and a half.
Sherwood said: "So far he has only been running on ground with plenty of give which brings his stamina into play and I am leaning towards aiming him at the Neptune Hurdle rather than the Supreme.
"I am sure he would get the longer trip and be comfortable at that speed before quickening, whereas I am concerned they might get him at it too soon in the Supreme, though we will decide after his next run."
"[He] will probably still be over two miles in the Rossington Main Hurdle at Haydock, which we won with Cruising Altitude in the past, as I want him to be comfortable running at speed before Cheltenham, where they go half a gear faster than anywhere else all year," he said.
"That said, we have the option of stepping him up to 2m4f at Cheltenham’s trials meeting later this month."
Dual Bumper winner, who is also two from two over hurdles. He has cruised home on both occasions, jumping better as the pace increased during the race. With plenty of stamina in his breeding, both the Supreme and Neptune have to considered likely targets. He appears at home on soft/heavy ground, suggesting the latter might be his target if the normal good to soft ground starts the meeting. I would like to see him run in a higher-grade race before making a final assessment on his chances.
"I was perturbed about running over that trip for the first time on very tiring ground," Sherwood told At The Races.
"If it had been two miles I would have taken those horses on but, as everyone knows, Billy can be quite keen over two miles.
"I was aware of him having a hard race quite close to the Festival. I was not scared of the opposition, I was impressed by them but I didn't want him having a hard race before March.
"He'll go to Exeter on Sunday week for a Listed hurdle over two-one. He's in A1 form and I'm very happy with him.
"He'll have entries in both races in March. I know I said I was swaying towards the Neptune but my gut feeling, if it's soft ground, (is) he'll almost certainly run in the Supreme and if it's drier than that, I might switch to the Neptune. I'm pretty certain we'll wait until closer to the race (before making a definite decision).
"I'm sure punters will understand six weeks is a long time between now and Cheltenham. My gut feeling is two miles at the moment if the ground stays as soft as it is."
Currently trading at the same price as the aforementioned My Tent Or Yours is Puffin Billy, who has looked hugely exciting on the four occasions he has taken to the track so far. Two successful outings in bumpers led to his hurdling debut at Newbury, where he created an excellent impression in a race run at a ridiculously slow pace, but he posted a greater performance on the figures when running out a facile winner of a Grade 2 at Ascot. There is still room for improvement in his jumping and his target is as yet unconfirmed, as he could run in the Neptune if the ground were good, but he shows so much speed that he seems highly likely to cope with the demands of this race. In short, the Oliver Sherwood-trained five-year-old could make the 11.5 available at present look like an absolute gift come March 12.*
"I'm almost certain that he will run in the Supreme Novices' now,"
"It was a decision that was everything to do with the weather and nothing to do with the opposition or anything like that - I'm just glad that I left him in the Supreme at the six-day stage on Wednesday because I could not have done.
"The owner has been fantastic and always said that it would be my decision and I just think with the ground the way it is going to be, going two miles five would be a real slog for a horse who hasn't been over the trip before.
"With the water table so high, it has only taken a relatively small amount of rain to make a massive difference and there's no doubt in my mind that it is going to proper soft ground.
"I've been really pleased with him since we sorted him out after his last race and now we just need a bit of luck in the race."
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