Dartan and Park Annonciade both placed at Huntingdon

Dartan finished 3rd in the 3 mile novices’ limited handicap steeplechase at Huntingdon on 1 November. Interestingly, the winner was carrying two stone less than Dartan, despite having won its two previous chases and a total of three since the beginning of September! Dartan was ridden by Tom Cannon who was very pleased with him and commented on how well he jumped and travelled, particularly after he had warmed up over the first couple of fences. He took the lead towards the end of the back straight on the final circuit but couldn’t go with the lightly weighted winner over the last couple of furlongs. This was a significant improvement over his first seasonal outing at Worcester earlier in the month and only his third run since his stable debut a year ago when he received a serious injury but had shown his character by still managing to finish. He has loads of ability and we look forward to his next outing!

At the same meeting, Park Annonciade, also ridden by Tom Cannon, ran very well in the extended 2 mile handicap chase and jumped superbly. He took the lead early in the back straight and was only caught on the run-in after the last fence. It is clear that there is more improvement to come from him and we look forward to a win very soon. The photograph of Park battling with the eventual winner over the last obstacle is courtesy of Megan Rose Photography.