Love Envoi team expecting more to come after Fighting Fifth second

Molly Hunter
December 11, 2023 2:19 pm

Top-class mare will be back at Sandown in the new year.

Love Envoi is pencilled in for a Sandown return after her second-placed performance in the relocated Fighting Fifth on Saturday.

The seven-year-old was back in action after 224 days off the track, her final run of last season being a beaten effort at Punchestown where she picked up an injury.

Prior to that she was enjoying a very successful campaign, however, winning twice at Sandown before being finding just the great Honeysuckle too good in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The complexion of the Fighting Fifth changed twice before the race, firstly because of the relocation of the contest from Newcastle to Sandown and secondly because of the withdrawal of leading hurdler Constitution Hill.

Without Nicky Henderson’s champion in the line-up the Harry Fry-trained Love Envoi started at 6-4 with only Jamie Snowden’s You Wear It Well more fancied as the 5-4 favourite.

Harry Fry's Love Envoi — Harry Fry’s Love Envoi (Steven Paston/PA)

Love Envoi was held up in last place in the early stages of the race and did not jump fluently to start with, but as the contest unfolded she stayed on to chase home Hughie Morrison’s veteran Not So Sleepy, who was an eight-length winner at 9-1.

The runner-up is owned by Noel Fehily Racing Syndicates and the former jockey was not disheartened by the performance after a significant lay-off for the mare.

“She’s fine, she did well to finish second but she was a bit slow and ring rusty early on,” he said.

“Then when she got into it she actually ran a good race in the end.

“The first two she jumped really up in the air and slow, she was definitely ring-rusty but she warmed up into it and came from a long way back.

Love Envoi at Cheltenham (John Walton/PA)

“Overall it was a good run. I wouldn’t think the ground had anything to to do with it, I’d be surprised if it did.

“Harry always said she was only just about ready to start so I think she will come on plenty for the run.”

One of Love Envoi’s Sandown successes last term was the Listed Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Mares’ Hurdle in early January, a race that she will now target again.

Fehily said: “We’ll head to Sandown for the mares’ hurdle she won last year, all roads lead back there at the minute.”

The Fehily syndicates also had another runner-up at the meeting as Insurrection came home second in the Grade Two Betfair Beacons Winter Novices’ Hurdle.

Insurrection and Harry Cobden at Sandown (John Walton/PA)

The Paul Nicholls-trained gelding was making his second start over obstacles after an easy win on debut last month, lining up at Sandown a 5-2 chance under Harry Cobden.

He looked the winner for almost all of the race and was only passed on the run to the line as Dan Skelton’s Deafening Silence headed him before the post.

“We were very happy with him, he looked the winner jumping the last but he just didn’t quite stay on that ground up the hill,” said Fehily.

“He’s a lovely young horse, he jumps for fun, we were very impressed with him.

“We don’t have any plans at the minute, we’ll give him a week or two and then make plans, it’ll be after Christmas and new year probably.”