After a testing January, Chris Wald is grateful for the team. He reflects on the latest winners, and a stable hitting form at just the right time
January has been its usual self this year, with a run of frost followed swiftly by storms and flooding, making for a challenging few weeks. According to Chris Wald, it has been a month that tested both horses and staff, even if the yard managed to keep things ticking over.
‘We had a quieter start to the month and then it became quite hard work,’ he says. ‘We managed to keep the all-weather gallops going and keep the horses in their usual routine, but it definitely makes life harder for the staff, working in really wet or really cold conditions.’
There was also some disruption to travel, with flooding affecting access for some of the team, but Chris was quick to credit the staff for getting through it. ‘Everyone worked really hard and we got through it,’ he says. ‘And actually, the second half of the month has been really good for us.’
Going on tour
It’s been a month of miles, but the long hours of travel were duly rewarded. Chris was in Carlisle when we spoke, where he’s travelled with First Confession for the Chasing Excellence Beginners’ Chase*. A trip to Doncaster proved particularly fruitful, with Mask of Zorro and Western Knight both returning winners.
‘Mask of Zorro’s now four wins from four this season – he’s been a real star,’ Chris says. ‘The next day, we had a couple of runners at Cheltenham. Triple Trade finished a really good third, and then Kripticjim, a lovely young horse, won a Grade 2 Classic Novices’ Hurdle.
‘It’s really competitive, so to get a winner there is great. There was a bit of drama around that race – the start was delayed because they found a hole in the track. It was the last race and, by the time they ran, it was nearly dark. It was a photo finish, and it was so dark they couldn’t get a result from the photo! Luckily, they managed to slow down the video footage and Kripticjim won. That was really good.’
The travelling continued north to Musselburgh for their big meeting of the year. In the Scottish Champion Chase, JPR One moved up to two and a half miles: ‘He’s been placed plenty of times but has found it hard to get his head in front because he’s always up against really good opposition and carrying a lot of weight in handicaps,’ Chris says. ‘This was his first time at that distance and he looked like he absolutely loved it. He won really impressively.
‘The next day, Rock My Way came second in the Edinburgh National Handicap Chase, so that was a great trip north.’
The big C
With February under way, attention is now turning firmly towards the Cheltenham Festival. Chris says the brief quieter spell last month came at the right time.
‘It’s let the horses fill out a bit,’ he says. ‘They seem to be really firing now – it feels like a good reward for everyone’s hard work through the cold and wet of January.’
Looking ahead, Alexei is pencilled in for the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton on 14th February – a run that could shape plans for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. JPR One is likely to head towards the Ryanair Chase – the feature race on day three of the Festival – while Kripticjim is expected to take his chance in one of the novice hurdles.
‘It looks like we’re going to have a really nice bunch of horses going into the Festival,’ Chris says. ‘It’s been a tough month weather-wise, but it’s nice to see everyone’s hard work paying off.’
- First Confession won nicely in Carlisle, continuing the trend of winners up north!
