….Bass Hunter clearly held in high regard;
Gordon said: “We’re off to the Listed race on Friday and he seems in good form. It was a nice start and we’re looking forward to it.
“At the end of the day I thought he was a very exciting horse at home. Literally about two days before he ran I said to the wife ‘I think he’s the best one we’ve had in 18 years of training’. But horses at home can be very different than on the track.
“He’s by Authorized and they can be a bit hot-headed, but he behaved beautifully at Newbury and won very nicely. The second horse has come out and won a maiden hurdle afterwards. It’s difficult when it’s a bumper where was very little form in the race.
“It looks like there were some nice horses with nice pedigrees and it’s a Newbury bumper. He couldn’t have done it more impressively on the day so for me he’s a big five-year-old and there’s no hurry with him, I just thought let’s go the bumper route with him this year… let’s go Listed at Ascot on Friday.
“We want the horse to do the talking so he can tell me that on Friday, whether he’s up for that type of thing. The horse is the only one who is going to tell us. I think we’ll know on Friday a couple of minutes after the race whether he is going to be ready for those big spring ones.
…..Bass Hunter into a best 16-1 from 33-1 after that win.
He’s a fair old beast! He’s just got to learn to settle in his races a bit,” said his trainer.
“It was a great performance, but he was slightly running on his nerves. He’s still gone and won which is great, but I think he’s got the makings of a very, very good horse and for him to become a very good horse he’s got learn to settle a bit.
“I’ve been training for 18 years and at this precise moment he’s the best horse I’ve ever had, that’s for sure, but for him to be the complete horse he’s got to learn to settle.”
Paddy Power cut Bass Hunter’s odds for the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival to 12-1 from 25-1 and a trip to Prestbury Park in March could now be on the agenda.
Gordon added: “He’s a big shell of a horse at the moment, that’s why I’ve gone the bumper route with him and hopefully it’s onwards and upwards.
“We’ll either go straight to Cheltenham or straight to Aintree, one or the other. Cheltenham is at the forefront of our minds, but we’ve got a bit of time to think about it and as a trainer my job now is to teach him to settle – as a trainer, that is where hopefully my expertise will come into play!”
not that i am a pool player, mind, my mates love a game but i would rather stick pins in my eyes. I hate winning because it means i have to go again.
