Dont miss Unibet ambassador Nico de Boinville’s latest column as he talks through weekend rides at Wincanton and Sandown where Might Bite returns
Nico de Boinville looks ahead to some high-profile weekend rides as the brilliant Might Bite makes his seasonal return
“Read the thoughts of four-time Champion Trainer Nicky Henderson and stable jockey Nico de Boinville exclusively at Unibet each week throughout the Jump Season. Unibet are an award-winning sports betting and casino operator with over 16 million customers, and proud sponsors of the Unibet Champion Hurdle, The Irish Gold Cup and betting partner of the Investec Derby.”
IT will be good to get on my Sunday best this week.
I’m really looking forward to riding Might Bite (2.20) at Sandown. He has his first run of the season in the Future Stars Chase tomorrow after a great novice season.
It’s not a bad race with Frodon, As De Mee and Label Des Obeaux – they’re all good horses in their own right. He’s not going to have it all his own way.
His RSA Chase win – when he nearly threw it away on the run-in – has been well documented.
I didn’t realise we were so far clear when we turned for home as he’s got a very high cruising speed. He was already thinking about ducking out at the last when he made a mistake.
When he started to stop I thought ‘oh no, here we go’. He’d done it a couple of years earlier as a novice hurdler but I didn’t predict he’d be doing it again with two years of maturity on him.
We’re very aware of it now but that doesn’t stop you riding him any differently.
He obviously had a lot left in the tank to go from zero up to full gallop again and get up on the line.
I wasn’t sure he’d got there, to be honest. When it’s so tight like that you don’t have a clue if you’ve won or not. Luckily he had. It was a massive feeling of relief more than anything.
He is a serious horse – he’s got a lot of talent. This is nice stepping stone to bigger things and we’ll use it as such.
I’m not going to Sandown with any negative thoughts. You don’t go into a race with him thinking there are going to be any problems – you can’t see any coming.
He did nothing wrong at Aintree when he beat Whisper again. He made the running and you couldn’t fault him.
At home he’s the most straight-forward horse you can have. He schooled very well this week and he’s been working well but he’s bound to come on for the run.
Earlier in the day I’m on Baden (1.20) in the novices’ handicap chase.
He’s been doing everything the right way – he’s schooled very well. This looks a good starting point for his chasing career and we’ve always thought he’d progress for a fence.
Sandown is a true jumping test. They have to jump and travel otherwise they got lost. If you’ve got a horse who’s schooled well at home then it’s a nice place to start. I think it will suit Baden.
I’m sure he’ll come on for the run but I’d hope he’d be there in the mix.
My third ride is on lightly-raced Wenyerreadyfreddie (2.55).
He won a novice hurdle boys race at the backend of the last year and the horse who finished second has won a couple of times since.
He’s got good form behind him and he’s summered well. I’d like to think he’d put up a good performance.
Today I’m off to Wincanton to ride Lough Derg Spirit (3.00) in the Elite Hurdle.
It looks a hot race but I’d like to think he’s in with a really good shout. We could have gone chasing with him this year but we’d like to think he’s off a nice mark.
He won a couple of novice hurdles last season and I think we can put a line through his run at Aintree when he pulled up behind Finian’s Oscar.
I don’t think he handled the track – I was never happy with hi at any stage.
He’s going right-handed today – he definitely likes going that way round. All his best runs were that way round.
Wincanton is a sharp track – a bit like Musselburgh where he won last season – and I’d like to think today’s conditions would suit.
Last weekend didn’t start well as Coneygree wasn’t great in the Charlie Hall Chase.
He jumped the first two very well but then he came out of my hands of nowhere – a stride to early.
He almost fell and struck into himself with a bad over-reach. I could have pulled up there and then. He went from all to nothing in the space of a matter of strides.
Everyone is saying using the low sun is just an excuse but I can’t think of anything else that would cause him to do what he did.
Coneygree just doesn’t make mistakes like that – he never has before. There must have been a reason why he decided to come up from nowhere.
Sometimes horses cope with the sun and sometimes they don’t but sometimes it is the reason why horses make silly mistakes.
We all ride with dark goggles so we can see fairly alright – they haven’t got those. As soon as you came around the bend it was very low and just slightly to your left.
People can say what they like about it being an excuse but it’s my excuse.
Sunday was much better as I rode a double for Ben Pauling on Willoughby Court and Equus Secretus.
Willoughby Court went down to the first fence like he hadn’t seen one before. He had schooled very well at home and he’s bound to come on a lot for that run. With a bit more schooling he’s sure to progress a lot.
The way he jumped early doors and the way he finished his race he must have a serious engine to still win. He’s one to watch out for.