Latest News / Keith Melrose / 18 January 2011 / 1

With a glut of meetings in the North scheduled for the coming days, the number of entrants from Paul's yard is confined to fixtures at Newbury, Taunton and Ludlow, but there is no shortage of potential runners.

It's perhaps interesting to note that, despite several above-average races for a midweek fixture, Paul has declared just one runner for Wednesday's Newbury card. Even so, the chosen entrant is an intriguing one. Cedre Bleu faces just three rivals on his British hurdling debut (once-raced in France for Jehan Bertran de Balanda) and, in a pattern we're more than familiar with now, his main rival comes from Nicky Henderson's Seven Barrows yard.

Cedre Bleu has a sound jumps pedigree (by Montjeu's half-brother Le Fou from the family of several Flat and jumps winners) and made a pleasing enough debut over hurdles at Auteuil in September, after which he came into the joint-ownership of Paul Barber and David Johnson. Incidentally, the aforementioned Henderson rival is Titan de Sarti, who Paul should have a reasonable gauge on given he finished a place ahead of Ditcheat inmate Empire Levant at Newbury on his previous start.

Between the two novice hurdles run at 13.30 and 14.30 at Taunton on Thursday, Paul has no fewer than eight entered at this stage. Recent Exeter winner Bermuda Boy is engaged in the seventeen-furlong contest at 13.30, but arguably more interesting are four-year-olds Plenty Pocket and Brampour.

Joint-owned by the Timeform Betfair Racing Club, Plenty Pocket has been recruited straight from the Flat in France, where he showed useful form including when an eye-catching third in a Craon minor event on his final start for Elie Lellouche. He and Brampour actually crossed swords during their Flat days, in a listed race at Deauville, and it was the latter (second that day to Plenty Pocket's sixth) who arrived in Britain with the bigger reputation, already prominent in the betting for the Triumph Hurdle before he made his debut over hurdles at the weekend, when he finished third to Kazzene at Kempton.

The second novice at 14.30 over an extended nineteen furlongs arguably contains the more interesting Ditcheat entrants, but even so one stands out. Dark Lover, Don't Turn Bach and Ramses de Marcigny may all have been at least useful in bumpers, but Al Ferof appeals as potentially one of the top novices of the season. A faller two out when still going comfortably at Cheltenham on his hurdling debut, Al Ferof was third to Backspin in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury over Christmas and, with runner-up Court In Motion franking that form at the weekend, there's every reason to think he can match his smart bumper form over hurdles before long.

The two-mile handicap (15.30) may answer a couple of key questions over promising but difficult-to-train inmates at Ditcheat, with Sanctuaire (disappointing this season) and long-term absentee R de Rien Sivola both coming into that category. Tito Bustillo doesn't have such questions to answer, putting up as he did a career-best effort when second to Nearby in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton on his reappearance. He was twice a winner as a novice around Taunton, the test of speed the track provides clearly playing to his strengths.

At Ludlow, Paul's only representative in the races over jumps is Round Tom in the three-mile amateur handicap hurdle at 15.40. Although most unexposed after just two starts over timber, Round Tom has looked nothing out of the ordinary by the standards of the Nicholls yard so far and needs to improve to defy his initial handicap mark.

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1. TREVOR BOOKER | 19 January 2011

   DEAR PAUL CAN YOU TELL ME THE TARGET FOR TITO BUSTILLO AT THE FESTIVAL

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