Williams anticipating further progress from Saint Segal

Molly Hunter
December 30, 2021 1:38 pm

No definite plans for Finale second at present.

Jane Williams believes there is more to come from Saint Segal after his second-placed run in the Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow on Monday.

The three-year-old was triumphant on his racecourse debut at Bangor in November and then made the significant step up to Grade One company on what was only his second ever outing.

Partnered by Williams’ son Chester, the gelding chased home Gary Moore’s Porticello to finish second by eight and a half lengths.

The field was supposed to tackle to seven hurdles during the two-mile trip, but two flights, including the last, were omitted and runners therefore faced a three-furlong run-in to the line.

“It was impressive and it was a deep race,” Williams said.

“Though it was a real nuisance for us that the jumps weren’t there, I think that cost us the race myself, he would have settled because he ran free for a long way.

“It changes the race for horses like ours, though it was a better race than some of these races as there were a lot of proper jumps horses.

“For him, he just needs to settle. It was only his second ever run, if he can settle then he shouldn’t be far away. He just ran free but he did battle on, it was a good horse that beat us though, but it definitely didn’t help.”

Whilst there are no confirmed plans for the horse’s next outing, connections are sure that there is further improvement to come from the French-bred having acquitted himself well at the highest level.

“Chester said he felt very weak and that he will improve. We all hope we’ve got a superstar and you always hope you’re going to win something like that, but it’s not easy and we felt there’s a lot of improvement to come,” said Williams.

“We thought he was impressive at home and we thought he was impressive at Bangor. He’s a really exciting horse to have, he reminds me a bit of Le Rocher (2013 Finale winner) and we’ve had that sort of type before, incredibly professional.

“There are so many options for him, we just thought we’d really enjoy the other day without spending too much time worrying about where he goes next as there are so many different ways you could go with him.”

Saint Segal is owned by a syndicate who grouped together to buy the horse from Williams and named their partnership after the trainer’s Culverhill Farm base in Devon.

“He’s owned by the Culverhill Racing Club, I didn’t even have to try to sell him as they all got together and formed the club and wanted to buy him,” Williams explained.

“It’s great, there’s so much enthusiasm for him in the yard. The owners were so keen to have a share in him and we really liked that.

“Syndication is the way forward, if you’ve got a good group of people who are all communicating with each other it’s great. It’s a community thing and we’re all really enjoying it.”