Ellison to consider travel plans for Tashkhan

Ashley Iveson
October 17, 2023 4:19 pm

Cesarewitch third could be aimed at targets in France and Australia.

Brian Ellison is considering options in France and Australia for Tashkhan following his fine weight-carrying performance in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket on Saturday.

The high-class stayer has been placed in a number of top races over the past couple of years, including the 2021 Long Distance Cup at Ascot and last season’s Yorkshire Cup and Prix du Cadran.

Having registered a first win in over two years in a valuable race at Chester late last month, Tashkhan was lumbered with top-weight of 10st 2lb in last weekend’s prestigious handicap on the Rowley Mile, but showed his class in being beaten just a length into third place by The Shunter and Pied Piper.

With options to run in Britain before the end of the year limited, Ellison may look to a trip across the Channel for a tilt at the Prix Royal-Oak on October 29, while an even longer journey to run on foreign soil is in the melting pot for next year.

He said: “It was a fantastic run, he got beaten by two proper horses. The penalty he got for winning at Chester probably beat him, but he ran a blinder and it was probably one of his better runs.

“We did think about putting a claimer on him but he’s a hard enough ride, which is why we left Ben (Robinson) on him, and to be fair he gave him a great ride.

“I took him out of Ascot on Saturday. He is entered in France, but I don’t know. He’s had two races in handicap company under top-weight and now we’ve got him back to some really good form, maybe we should just look after him a bit more.

“We are talking about the Sydney Cup at Randwick, where it’s wet. That race is in April, so if we wanted to go for that he’d need to go to Australia in February time.

“It’s not definite, it’s just something to think about. If he doesn’t go there, he’ll probably go to Nottingham again for the Further Flight and then just wait for soft ground.”

Ellison first bought Tashkhan out of Emmet Mullins’ yard with the idea of a future career over obstacles, but that plan has been put on the back burner for the time being.

He added: “We were actually thinking about going jumping earlier this year because he lost his way a bit, but that was probably more because he wasn’t getting his ground and he wasn’t enjoying it.

“If we did go jumping, he’d be some three-miler, I know that, and I did school him when I first got him, but he ended up being a good Flat horse, so we left him there.

“Is it worth risking it when we’re making good prize-money on the Flat? I think we’ll just stick to good races on the Flat, as there’s more money to be made.”