GAVIN CROMWELL BLOG: Jeremy’s Flame has the potential to be a very good mare.
I was happy with Espoir D’Allen at Naas on Sunday. He made a couple of niggly errors, but on the whole, he jumped well.
It was a pretty steadily run race and I think a stronger gallop would suit him better which we’ll hopefully get wherever we go next. As to where that will be, it’s still very much up for debate. He has an entry in the Champion Hurdle and we’ll obviously strongly consider that, but if Buveur D’Airshows up, I think he’s pretty much unbeatable.
The horse is only a five-year-old, so has so much time on his hands and if he has a hard race at Cheltenham, it could harm his chances of ever winning the race. I have no doubts the track would suit him, they always go a good gallop and that would play to his strengths too
One runner at Leopardstown
We’ve only got one entered at Leopardstown over the weekend, but I quite like the chance of Jeremy’s Flame in the mares bumper (4.40pm) on Sunday.
She was pretty impressive on her seasonal reappearance at Naas in December and I think she potentially could be a very good mare. She’s very highly strung and is quite hard to keep a lid on, but there’s a fair amount of ability there.
If things go her way and she behaves herself on the day, I fancy her to go pretty close.
Irish Champion Hurdle
It will be very interesting to see Apple’s Jade back over two miles – she’s an amazing mare who keeps getting the job done.
I’d love to see her run in the Champion Hurdle, I think she’s got the ability to be competitive over two miles and given her high cruising speed, I don’t think she’d be out of place in the race.
Irish Gold Cup
This looks another very competitive race and all the market leaders hold strong claims. The one I like is Monalee for Henry De Bromhead, he’s got some pretty solid form and could outrun his odds.
Presenting Percy is very much the one to beat in my eyes looking ahead to Cheltenham, he looked very well at Gowran Park and it will take a good one to beat him in March.
