Jonjo O’Neill in no rush with promising Saint Davy

Simon Milham
February 8, 2023 12:38 pm

Cheltenham could come too soon for unbeaten six-year-old.

Unbeaten Saint Davy will continue his education in the next couple of weeks following a setback, Jonjo O’Neill has confirmed.

The Gay Smith-owned gelding took a Carlisle bumper in October and made a winning start to his hurlding career when winning at Chepstow on Welsh National day.

O’Neill said: “Saint Davy is grand. He is in to run somewhere. He is OK. He has had a bit of a setback – his blood was a bit wrong for a while, so we’ve left him alone and now he’s hopefully coming back again.

Wow! What a finish!
Saint Davy beats Hymac in a truly thrilling battle to the line at @Chepstow_Racing…@JonjoONeill | @JJONeillJnr pic.twitter.com/Or8ipywysk
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) December 27, 2022

“He is a big, fine horse – a big, old chaser. You’d hope he would be one for the future. He has a lot to learn and is still a baby.

“He did well to win (at Chepstow) – I didn’t think he’d win to be honest.”

Though he holds entries in both the Ballymore and Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival, O’Neill is reluctant to commit him for either at present.

He added: “It’s possibly too soon. I don’t know is the answer, really. We’ll see how he runs, but he hasn’t got much experience to be fair.

“He is a nice horse for the future and I’m not going to be rushing him. Luckily enough we have patient owners. It will be up to me to see if he goes there or not, but I’d like to see him run again and I’d feel a bit happier. I like him, but I just don’t know until he runs.”