Straight to Cheltenham for Brewin’upastorm

Nick Robson
January 31, 2020 12:15 pm

Murphy novice will miss Kingmaker and head to Festival fresh.

Brewin’upastorm will head straight to the Cheltenham Festival without another run.

Olly Murphy had been trying to get the seven-year-old ready for the Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick on February 8 after a minor setback, but has now decided he will be better off going to the Festival fresh.

Brewin’upastorm has won both his novice chases this season, beating a high-class field at Carlisle in October before easily out-pointing last season’s Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle winner Southfield Stone at Exeter.

“We’ve decided he’ll go straight to Cheltenham – he definitely won’t run before,” Murphy said of his charge, who holds entries in the Arkle and the Marsh Novices’ Chase.

“He’s in good form, but I was just a bit tight for time for Warwick. I’ve had a good chat with his owner Barbara Hester, and we’ve decided that’s he’s very good when he’s fresh – so it’s not a big thing to go there without a prep run.”

Murphy is encouraged by the subsequent form of the novices Brewin’upastorm beat on his chasing debut.

He added: “We’re really looking forward to running him – he’s in fantastic nick, and we can go straight there.

“We got him out early for experience – which was a big help – and his Carlisle race could not have worked out better.

“Good Boy Bobby has franked the form; Midnight Shadow won the Dipper, and Global Citizen won a Grade Two at Kempton over Christmas – so it all worked out really well.

“I’m really excited about my lad.”