Lacey has plenty to look forward to with Blow Your Wad

PA Sport Reporters
December 26, 2023 4:57 pm

Kempton winner builds on promise of chasing bow.

Time may prove Blow Your Wad faced a very stiff ask on his chasing debut but he made no mistake on his second run over fences at Kempton.

Tom Lacey’s five-year-old was giving almost a stone to Gary Moore’s Le Patron at Sandown and came off second best to the tune of 10 lengths.

The winner franked the form in no uncertain terms when winning a Grade One on his next outing and running off a mark of 135 in the Ladbrokes Boost Your Odds On Racing Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase, Blow Your Wad (100-30 favourite) and Stan Sheppard saw off Outlaw Peter by a length and a half.

“Stan came in for a bit of unfair criticism at Sandown. I didn’t think it was fair for Blow Your Wad to go and eyeball Le Patron and someone said he gave him a soft lead on the front end and it all went his own way,” said Lacey.

Blow Your Wad (right) jumps upsides Outlaw Peter at the last (John Walton/PA)

“In some ways it did, but the fact of the matter was that Blow Your Wad was having his first run over fences around Sandown and I think to eyeball him on the front end would have been foolish. In hindsight he has had a good education around Sandown and jumped really well and he has come and won at Kempton on Boxing Day so there are no complaints.

“There were a couple of times I thought he was going nowhere and the next thing he was hard on the bridle travelling like the winner. All the way up the straight I thought he would win. He is a lovely horse with a big future.”

He added: “Possibly we could look at the Scilly Isles at Sandown next.”

Outlaw Peter is trained by Paul Nicholls, who incredibly finished second in all six races on the card.

Court In The Act (far side) just holds off Onethreefivenotout (Steven Paston/PA)

Hermes Allen chased home the impressive Il Est Francais in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase, Rubaud was second to Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle and Bravemansgame was second in defence of his King George crown.

The nearest he came to a winner was in the ladbrokeslive.co.uk To Win Free Music Tickets Maiden Hurdle when Onethreefivenotout went down by just a neck to Court In The Act (11-4) – trained by Nicholls’ nephew, Harry Derham.

In the closing Ladbrokes Get Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap Hurdle Patrick Neville’s Mahons Glory (11-1) made every yard of the running under Sam Twiston-Davies, beating Nicholls’ Emailandy by 11 lengths.

Mahons Glory in splendid isolation (John Walton/PA)

Neville and Twiston-Davies were out of luck with The Real Whacker who finished fourth in the King George, but having just his second run for the yard Mahons Glory galloped on relentlessly.

“It didn’t go to plan the last day (at Newbury). We knew today he was in super form. The last day probably knocked the gas out of him as he was a bit fresh and he probably got a hold of Sam and ran away with him,” said Neville.

“We changed a few things around with him. We put a different bit in his mouth, and we got him to chill out a bit more. He is actually a lovely horse to ride. He wasn’t straightforward when we got him, and he was nearly unrideable. He has really turned the corner.

“He has loads of ability and I think he is a horse that will jump fences as well. We will look at every option. Take the run out of the last day and put him back in that three-mile division after a run or two under his belt and I wouldn’t write him off in it.

“It is a division that is not hectic, and we are looking at maybe that (the Stayers’ Hurdle). I think he is graded material. He is not straightforward, but we are getting inside his head.”