Hurricane Pat Sweeps To Sandown Success For In-form Moore Team

Gary and Josh Moore's dream spell at Sandown advanced Saturday when Hurricane Pat played himself into the Cheltenham Festival formula with a facile triumph in the opening Betfair Exchange Claremont Novices' Hurdle.


An impressive course-and-distance scorer last month, the five-year-old was sent 7-2 in the Listed occasion and with Philip Hobbs and Johnson White's heavy preferred Sober Glory failing to measure up to his track record, Hurricane Pat was left to saunter home to a five-and-a-half-length success over Dan Skelton's Cheltenham winner Soldier Reeves.


Josh Moore stated: "He's won extremely remarkably and I was rather positive when we made the entry this was the best race on paper.


"It was a great race on paper but he did an extremely good piece of work last week which was enough to bring him here. I was thinking he might want further however the work was with the horse that won here the other day, Macktoad, and he type of made me think 2 miles would be for him.


"We constantly thought he might desire much better ground as well, so today was a little bit of a concern but Caoilin (Quinn, jockey) seemed to think he was much better on this ground today.


"He was a nice horse last year but he has reinforced up a lot over the summer and his mind has actually grown up also, he's taking whatever in his stride nicely. He won his 2 bumpers and we've been very patient with him and he's paid his method now over obstacles."


Hurricane Pat impressed at Sandown (John Walton/PA)


Hurricane Pat was introduced into the Supreme Novices' Hurdle market at 25-1 by Paddy Power, with connections entitled to begin dreaming of the future.


Moore included: "He's won a Noted race so he's certainly got potential. We'll see how he comes out of today because he is a horse we can't over race.


"You need to believe along the lines of the Supreme and whether that may be a bit much for him we'll discover. We can certainly tailor towards that all the very same.


"It's an embarassment the Tolworth isn't here and there is always Aintree (Formby Novices' Hurdle). If the Tolworth had been here we would certainly be here. He's won that so well though that I would not remain in a rush to run again."


Joe Tizzard's group are likewise in form and his hot streak continued when 11-8 preferred Sunset Marquesa developed on her Exeter go back to tape-record an emphatic six-and-a-half-length verdict in the Betfair Supports Racing With Pride Mares' Handicap Hurdle.


Tizzard said: "She did it well and when the race cut up a bit I did elegant her to go and do that.


"It was remarkable and this was the best race today. She will get jacked up a few (pounds) and then we'll have a great look. I was believing driving up this early morning if she goes and wins how I hope I don't have a plan, but I will in the morning."


Hobbs and White will continue to outline a hurdling course with Kikijo after the enhancing 9-4 joint-favourite constructed on his current Cheltenham success with a hard-fought triumph in the Pertemps Hurdle.


Hobbs stated: "He's a bit unusual as with a horse like him you would be considering going newbie chasing next year, however he's currently won a chase at Newbury in 2015 so that is not an alternative.


"I expect having actually won two difficulty races he will most likely run in another one. It gets harder now undoubtedly and after winning two in a row, it's not too often they win three. But we may just have to try to find another handicap hurdle somewhere on a stiff track with testing room like here.


"We may have blown his mark for the Final but he's only a young horse and might enhance. The Pertemps Final wasn't necessarily a strategy and there will be a lot of Irish horses coming over and we may just have to take what we can.


"For this collaboration we quite potentially could run in the Final, however I would not be thinking with the most likely great ground in the spring it would be our main goal - he might run it though, why not."