Tocca Ferro among 47 entries for Ladbroke Hurdle

Punchestowns

Emma Lavelle’s yard is hitting form at just the right time, with a 40% strike-rate for November as she looks to build on what is a promising start to the season.

Tocca Ferro is the rising star of the stable, having won both his starts this season and Lavelle has now entered the gelding for The Ladbroke at Ascot on December 18th. The five-year-old won a Listed handicap hurdle over the course and distance in October and the Listed Gerry Feilden Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday.

“Tocca Ferro only ran on Saturday so consequently we’ll just see how he comes out of that race over the next couple of weeks,” Lavelle said. “But if he’s bouncing, fresh and well, then the intention would be to run him in The Ladbroke.

“I was delighted with him at Newbury - he is getting more streetwise after each run. He did it well at Ascot the time before - he just got to the front and didn’t know what to do. Although he showed a little bit of the same trait again at Newbury, he had got his act together a bit more this time.

“He is going the right way, he is stronger and hopefully a better race will help him again - he is very exciting.”

Another entry who clearly falls into that category is Nicky Henderson’s Aegean Dawn, unbeaten in four career starts, who also won over course and distance last month. That came off a mark of 119 but he will be running from a rating of 140 in this race if he attempts to add Henderson’s record in the race after three wins with Chauvinist (2002), Jack The Giant (2007) and Sentry Duty (2008).

A total of 47 entries means there is every chance of a full field going to post for the race but that is far less likely for the Grade One highlight on the card, the BGC Long Walk Hurdle.

Big Buck’s faced only five rivals, some of whom were hopelessly outclassed, when he beat Duc de Regniere by three lengths in the Grade Two Long Distance Hurdle four days ago but Tom Mullins is considering sending Oscar Dan Dan over from Ireland.

Oscar Dan Dan won the Grade One Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse last December and won his only start of the campaign so far, the Grade Two Lismullen Hurdle over two-and-a-half miles, at Navan a month ago.

“There is not a lot for him here in Ireland and we thought we would keep our options open by popping him in there and taking a look at the race,” Mullions said. “It’s definitely on the cards and the ground at Ascot is always fairly nice before Christmas.

“We were very pleased with his win in the Lismullen Hurdle and we think if everything goes well he might have his best year yet.”

The eight-year-old’s biggest victories have come over two-and-a-half miles but Mullins has no fear regarding Oscar Dan Dan’s ability to perform at three miles even though he finished only sixth behind Big Buck’s in the World Hurdle, at Cheltenham in March, and then fifth to Quevega in the Grade One World Series Hurdle at Punchestown the following month.

“Three miles is not a problem for him at all and there might even be a bit of improvement in him over the trip,” Mullins said. “He ran well over the distance last spring at Punchestown but he was never quite right after he ran at Gowran in the January. It was very bad ground there and he didn’t come back quite as right as he was before Christmas.”

Paul Nicholls, the trainer of Big Buck’s; has also entered Celestial Halo, the 2009 Champion Hurdle runner-up who runs in the same ownership as Big Buck’s.
A surprise entry from Henderson is Punchestowns, the winner of the Long Walk in 2008, whose first season over fences last term culminated with victory in the Grade One Scilly Isles Novices' Chase at Sandown in February.

Paul Wheeler

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