Haydock run could be key to Ma Shantou’s seasonal aim

Emma Lavelle’s Ma Shantou will see his mettle tested in a valuable staying handicap hurdle before further plans are devised for the season.

The bumper-winning six-year-old was third in the Grade Two River Don as a novice last term, going on to finish seventh in the Albert Bartlett on his final start of the campaign.

He made a successful handicap debut on his seasonal return in a three-mile Pertemps qualifier at Cheltenham last month and is now due to shoulder a 9lb rise in the Betfair Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle at Haydock on November 22.

“He’s come out of Cheltenham really well, he is ticking over with Haydock later in the month the plan,” said Lavelle.

“That will tell us a bit more about what direction we head in next. He’s definitely in very good shape and we’re looking forward to getting him out again.

“It’s up a grade and he has gone up in the weights, so it will help us decide if he will go the Pertemps route or if he could go down the Stayers’ Hurdle route instead.

“If we’re going to be heading for that then he’ll need to run a big race at Haydock, so we will learn something whatever happens.

“He’s so straightforward and he loves his jumping, which stands him in good stead, and you can ride him how you want to depending on how the race is run.”