Straight to Cheltenham for Brewin’upastorm

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.”

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