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| High Times - High Bridge can break the Ferguson festival duck in the Bumper. |
This could be because I’ve made a conscious effort this year to get more plugged in to the Bumper scene both sides of the Irish Sea, but whichever way you look at the race you can’t deny there are some exciting prospects set to line up.
Several Bumper horses have caught the eye over the course of the season and rightfully they are at the head of the market – Ballyandy in particular looks an ideal sort for the race on the back of two Listed wins and should be there or thereabouts.
While Augusta Kate, if she were to line up, could go off very short indeed given her connections and how visually impressive she’s been to date this season.
She’s by no means a certainty to line up though nor are any of the Gigginstown horses after they broke their self-imposed embargo on the race last year and then instantly wished they hadn’t.
Obviously anything run by the O’Leary juggernaut or from the Mullins yard will be respected, but the one horse that has impressed me most in National Hunt flat races thus far this season hasn’t really been talked about that much in relation to the Cheltenham Bumper.
The horse in question is John Ferguson’s High Bridge and I really think this could be the horse to break Ferguson’s festival duck and send the trainer off back to Godolphin full time with a win as the Bloomfields operation ceases to exist.
There were a lot of long faces when High Bridge was beaten on his debut last February, but his second place finish to Ok Corral doesn’t read as bad form really when you consider that one went on to split Yorkhill and Up For Review at Punchestown subsequently.
He’s been sent off favourite on all four of his starts to date and disappointed slightly again when beaten on his reappearance at Cheltenham. He wasn’t given the greatest of rides that day though and stayed on well having been set too much to do, finishing third.
His conqueror that day Aurillac has subsequently finished third in a Listed Bumper to the aforementioned Ballyandy however and won a hurdles race just this past weekend so again the form looks decent.
Ridden closer to the pace at Huntingdon one month later he made no mistake but it was his Catterick win in December under a penalty that impressed most.
He beat two subsequent winners that day by 13l and looked very good in the process.
Off since he should be fresh and raring to go for the big dance and must offer the boys in black a big chance of a festival win before they sign off and he dons the blue of Godolphin to presumably run in Cup races on the level.
With several firms NRNB on all races now you can back with confidence as if he doesn’t line up for any reason you won’t lose, but this race is the target as far as I’m aware and although there is the old adage that Ferguson horses don’t get up the hill, High Bridge looks a really solid each way bet to prove that theory wrong and said John Ferguson off with that elusive festival win.
Recommendation:
High Bridge 0.5pt each way @ 14/1 (Bet365, Stan James) [NRNB]
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