Williams eyeing Boodles Quest for Galahad

Molly Hunter
February 17, 2020 9:45 am

Cheltenham Trials Day winner could contest handicap heat.

Galahad Quest is pencilled in for a tilt at the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at next month’s Cheltenham Festival.

Trainer Nick Williams has not entered the gelding in the JCB Triumph Hurdle on the Friday of the Festival, despite him winning a Grade Two trial for the race at the Gloucestershire track on January 25.

Instead Williams is considering the juvenile handicap hurdle, a Grade Three contest run over two miles and half a furlong.

“I will enter him in the Boodles, what used to be the Fred Winter,” said Williams.

“But he’s not guaranteed to run. It’s dependent on many things, the ground, the well-being of the horse and who else is running.”

Should the Cheltenham run not materialise, Williams intends to skip Aintree’s April fixture and seek out suitable races elsewhere.

“I don’t particularly have any plans for Aintree if he doesn’t run at Cheltenham, there are a few juvenile hurdle races at Newbury and Ascot that are more likely than running at Aintree.”

His form received a recent boost when Nicky Henderson’s Buzz, who prevailed by just a neck when the two horses crossed paths at Taunton in January, triumphed again on his next run at Doncaster.

Another past rival, Dan Skelton’s Allmankind, is well fancied for the JCB Triumph Hurdle after defeating the four-year-old at Warwick in November and subsequently winning two high-class juvenile contests.

However, Williams is not tempted to change tack, in spite of those recent endorsements.

“He’s decent, although I don’t think the Cheltenham race was strong,” he said of his charge.

“I actually think it was below average for that particular race.”

With the big spring festivals not a definite item on Galahad Quest’s agenda, his trainer ultimately intends to run him over the larger obstacles.

“He’s definitely a chaser,” he said.

“He’s a big horse, so he’ll definitely be running over fences next season.”