Cave Article and the Christian Williams team made the two hour plus trip across the River Severn on Thursday as they headed to Wincanton for our five-year-old's first run over fences.

The race came just three weeks after his seasonal reappearance at Fakenham where he finished a respectable fifth in his first start in handicap company. Christian had previously told us that his first run of the season would likely be one that would help blow away the cobwebs ahead of Cave Article's chase debut, so it was still pleasing to see him put in a solid run.

Thursday's contest had six lineup after three runners were declared as non-runners in the morning, and Cave Article was subject to plenty of support once again as he came in from 5/2 to 7/4 at the off. We were delighted to secure the services of last season's Champion Jockey, Harry Cobden, especially given his experience and record at Wincanton.


Cave Article's Owners for the Day in the parade ring with Harry Cobden

As the race got underway, it was the favourite I Shut That d'Or for the Joe Tizzard team who led the field along with Mr Sociable nearby in second, meanwhile Cave Article was close up back in third place. Through the opening stages, Cave Article cleared the flights with great fluency, which was a delight to see but something we expected given how he'd cleared some of his hurdles in his earlier races over the smaller obstacles.

Cobden seem opted to keep Cave Article slightly wider away from the front two as the race went on, which meant he had a clear view as he approached each fence and perhaps he thought the ground was better versus being closer to the rail. As the pair headed towards the back straight for the final time, Cobden asked Cave Article for a big jump just before the next fence and he made a slight mistake, which put him on the back foot for a moment. It didn't take long for him to be back on the bridle though, and as they turned for home, it was Cave Article and I Shut That d'Or who began to press on. The pair jumped the third from home almost together, but it was the latter who was travelling the best with Cobden really starting to get to work on our five-year-old to see what more he could pull out the locker, but it appeared that he was struggling to find that extra gear that could take him close.

In the end, Cave Article galloped all the way to the line and eventually came home in third place, 10 lengths behind the surprise winner My Mate Polly (28/1), who sustained a late effort to beat I Shut That d'Or.

Following the race, we caught up with Christian and this is what he had to say:

"A nice starting point for Cave Article today. We thought the trip might just be a little bit on the short side, but we look forward to stepping him up to three miles now on those tracks which don't get too soft."

Stay tuned for the next update from Ogmore Farm as we look forward to seeing where Cave Article could be setting his sights on next for his third start over fences.