I'm not sure how Nick Mordin seriously thinks MWDS has bounced abck to form in losing to Lough Derg in receipt of weight, but this is take on Sundays race.
MY WAY DE SOLZEN BACK TO FORM
I predicted that MY WAY DE SOLZEN (37) would bounce back to form when he reverted to an undulating track. Sure enough he did so when running second in the National Spirit Trophy at Fontwell to LOUGH DERG (38).
It was rather a messy race for My Way De Solzen. First of all he was nearly brought down when Gold Gun fell right under him at the sixth. Then his jockey decided the race was only between him and Elusive Dream and engaged in a sprint duel with that one from three out. My Way De Solzen won the sprint against Elusive Dream but it tired him so badly he was beginning to wander about approaching the last and fell victim to Lough Derg's late rally as he wandered even more on the run in.
I guess if he hadn't been hampered and had been ridden a bit more conservatively My Way De Solzen would have won this race well. It certainly looked like turning out that way as they turned into the straight. But I have to say that my gut feel from watching him here is that he should be going for the Ryanair Chase rather than the World Hurdle. I know he won the World Hurdle before. Now though he looks and runs like a two and a half mile chaser.
Still, My Way De Solzen does have a remarkably good record on undulating tracks and has won at the Cheltenham Festival in each of the last two years. So I'll be thinking hard before I oppose him at the big meeting.
The obvious horse to oppose My Way De Solzen with at Cheltenham if this run is any guide has to be Kasbah Bliss who beat Lough Derg last time. As I've mentioned before it seems clear that Lough Derg himself doesn't quite get the three miles at Cheltenham. He ran another fine race over a shorter trip here though, rallying strongly to pick up My Way De Solzen as that one tired.
In fact I rather wonder whether Lough Derg gets three miles over hurdles anywhere but Ascot, a track where I've noticed many apparent non-stayers have lasted trips they haven't seemed to stay elsewhere over the years. So far Lough Derg has won seven of his fifteen starts over hurdles at less than three miles. That Ascot win is his sole success in nine other hurdles outings over three miles plus.
I was misled into fancying ELUSIVE DREAM (36) by an inaccurate official going report (it said good when race times indicated it was actually soft). And he certainly looked a big threat as he dueled with My Way De Solzen in the sprint from three out. But he's never lasted national hunt distances on soft ground before and sure enough he ended up tiring from before the last here.
The only problem Elusive Dream has ever had besides not lasting jump trips on soft ground is that he doesn't seem very good at fighting for for position in a race in big fields. Toss out his hurdle runs on soft ground and all his races with more than a dozen runners and Elusive Dream's record looks fantastic. He's actually won ten of the eleven times he's run in fields of 12 or less at a mile and a half plus excluding those hurdles starts on soft ground. And he's run fast enough to be a threat to pretty much any staying hurdler.
