Under The Radar: Colm Murphy gives us five to note

Zanoosh completed her hat-trick when she won the Listed Apple’s Jade Novice Hurdle at Navan on Sunday.

Colm Murphy’s mare always travelled well for Brian Hayes through her race, just behind the moderate pace and, when her rider gave her a squeeze on landing over the penultimate flight, she picked up impressively.  She went clear of her rivals on the run to the last, and she stayed on powerfully up the hill to win by eight lengths.

Zanoosh’s win continued the good run of form being enjoyed by  Murphy, whose Savante was only just denied in the Listed three-mile handicap hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, and the trainer has lots to look forward to now as we move into the spring. 

The trainer gave us five to note:

He’s learning all the time.  It took him a while to figure out his jumping, he’s not a natural but he’s getting better as he goes and as he gains experience.

He battled on well to win the Killarney National in May over three and a quarter miles.  He stays well, so we’ll find another staying chase for him now.  He’s a half-brother to Lovely Hurling, and you’d like to think that he’d be able to be competitive in some of those staying chases. 

He ran well in his bumper at Leopardstown over Christmas on his racecourse debut, and he didn’t run badly in his maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse there last week.  He kept on well.

He’s a nice youngster.  He's a half-brother to King Kal, also owned by Paul (McKeon), who won a couple of times over hurdles.  He’s just taking a little while to learn.  He has a little bit of an awkward head carriage, but we like him, he could be all right in time.  We’ll try to pick up his maiden hurdle with him and we’ll see where he slots in. 

He won his bumper at Wexford in May 2024, and he didn’t race again until last February, when he won his maiden hurdle at Naas.  He did well then to finish second to Final Demand in the Grade One Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown in May.

He has had just two runs over fences this season, in beginners’ chases, and I suppose he was a bit unlucky to come up against Kopek Des Bordes and Kargese in them.  He finished second in each of them.  He’s a half-brother to Cadatharla and he’s another horses who learning as he goes.  He’s still inexperienced, he has only had two runs over fences and three runs over hurdles.

He’s entered in the two-mile rated novice chase at Punchestown on Sunday, so he could go there.  Hopefully he’ll be able to get his win on the board now soon over fences and go on from there.

We were delighted with her run on the listed three-mile handicap hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.  She was only beaten a head in the end, and the first two were well clear of their rivals, and on a different day she might have won.  It was frustrating, that she went so close to winning a big pot on a big weekend, but we were delighted with how she ran.

We have always thought that she was a nice filly, but the ground is key for her.  She wants soft ground.  We’re not sure what her rating will be in Britain, but we could go to Uttoxeter or Plumpton with her now for a staying hurdle.  She needs a trip and she needs soft ground, and she needs things to drop right for her.  We have the option of going back over fences with her too, she’s rated a fair bit lower over fences than she is over hurdles, so that’s a possibility.  

It was great that she did what she did in the Apple’s Jade Hurdle at Navan on Sunday.  She was entitled to do that, but she did it well.

She disappointed us last season.  She looked promising after she won her bumper at Fairyhouse in April last year, but she didn’t really go on from that.  There were a few little things, we were always trying to keep weight on her, but this year she is trainable.

I’d hope that she would handle better ground.  It’s hard to know for sure, she goes so well on soft ground, her four wins have all been on soft or heavy ground, but we’re hoping that she’ll be as good on better ground.

She’s in the Albert Bartlett Hurdle, so that’s obviously an option, or we might keep her here and go for the Shannon Spray Hurdle at Limerick instead that week.  We’ll see.  They’re nice options to have.