Doncaster Saturday

THE failure of favourite Ofalltheginjoints to run any sort of race weakened the Grade 2 December Novices’ Chase, but winner Hurricane Harvey (Fergal O’Brien/Paddy Brennan) has found only Ga Law too strong in three chase starts to date, and he appreciated the step up to three miles to get back to winning ways at odds of 5/2, beating outsider Milanford (Nick Mitchell/Tom Bellamy) by a length and a quarter.

The winner ran very well behind McFabulous in the rearranged EBF Final at Kempton, but his transition to fences has been less smooth than his form figures would imply, as his trainer explained: “Hurricane Harvey is not a natural. He takes a bit of work and we do plenty of jumping with him at home. We were thinking about the Kauto Star at Kempton, but that might come a bit soon.”

Monmiral much the best

An alternative event on the same day for would-be Triumph horses tends to have the effect of producing two messy races rather than one strong one, and that was the case at the weekend, with a couple of interesting prospects scoring bloodless wins against inferior opposition and leaving the observers little the wise about the bigger picture.

In this case it was the Paul Nicholls-trained Monmiral (Sean Bowen) who justified cramped odds of 1/2 as he maintained his unbeaten record over hurdles, the first of his three wins coming back in March for François Nicolle before he crossed the English Channel.

Midweek

MAGIC Of Light completed a hat-trick of wins in Newbury’s Pertemps Network Mares’ Chase on Wednesday.

Last year’s Grand National runner-up barely had to get out of second gear to continue her dominance of the extended two-mile–seven-furlong listed race, justifying odds of 1/2 in the three-runner field.

She was ridden by Robbie Power who said afterwards: “She feels as good as when she won it for the first time, if not better. She travelled super and jumped super. She didn’t put a foot wrong the whole way round.”

Power also reported Magic Of Light will now go to Ascot to try and make it a hat-trick of wins in the Grade 2 Warfield Mares Hurdle with the Grand National the overall goal in April.

DENIS Hogan didn’t wait long to make his comeback as a jockey when partnering two of his own horses in Britain this week.

The Tipperary trainer retired from the saddle after riding Bua Boy to win a handicap hurdle at Galway during the summer but he has missed his second racing profession since and surprised people when he jocked himself up on Grozni in a bumper at Ayr on Monday. He finished second on that horse but went one better on Paddy The Wire in another bumper at Catterick a day later.

Hogan predominantly trains flat horses now but still has a section of jumpers and he didn’t rule himself out from taking a few rides at the upcoming hectic Christmas period.