Monbeg Dude eyeing Haydock after conquering Chepstow
Connections of Monbeg Dude have set sights on another John Smith's Grand National trial, after winning the Coral Welsh National Handicap Chase at Chepstow on January 5th. The 8-year-old’s camp is aiming for glory at Haydock, terming Aintree as
an unlikely target this season.
Despite a few terrible mistakes, Monbeg Dude managed to deliver a winning performance in Chepstow’s Grade 3 event earlier this month. In the hands of P. Carberry, he held up early on. A massive error in the initial stages further made things tricky for him.
After the early mess, the 10-1 chance shifted his gears, and ran furiously with his head down. Following an outstanding run, he established supremacy in the final stages, despite hitting the final fence. He edged left in the dying moments, and imposed an
excellent ½-length loss over the 11-4 favourite, Teaforthree.
Although the son of Witness Box won in good style, he made a series of mistake - something trainer Michael Scudamore believes would be unsuitable for his charge at Aintree.
The connections, however, have big plans lined-up, as they aim for the Haydock's Betfred Grand National Trial, scheduled to be held on February 16th. The handler revealed the agenda:
"Given the way he jumped at Chepstow the Grand National would almost certainly come too soon for him so I think we'll resist the temptation even to enter.”
"He is only eight and has plenty of time to run in a Grand National. Before Saturday we had been thinking that if everything went well the race we would target would be the Grand National trial at Haydock. He has five weeks until that race, which should
be enough, and it looks like a nice target for him."
Monbeg Dude has registered three wins so far. The ongoing season has proved to a lucky one for him, as he won Cheltenham’s Grade 3 Henrietta Knight Handicap Chase in November.
His Chepstow triumph was a disappointing outcome for Teaforthree. He suffered defeat in the hands of Tony McCoy, who found nothing wrong in his runner’s performance. The jockey described that the 4-mile Cheltenham winner ran well, but Monbeg Dude proved
too hot to handle.
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