Cave Article made his debut for the Coral Racing Club last Wednesday, in the Class 4 Maiden Hurdle (13:30) at Doncaster. 

With it being the first day at school for our new recruit, the main aim was for him to learn the ropes and feel more comfortable running in a larger field, and with fifteen runners in the race, he was never short of company.

Our gelding took a keen hold in the early stages of the race, with jockey Jack Tudor trying his best to rein him in and position him on the outside with a bit of clear air to aim at. His jumping in the early stages of the race was solid for a debutant, getting over the first few hurdles with ease. 

Cave Article did make a slight mistake at the fourth hurdle, but it didn't affect him too much, and he cleared the following hurdles with the same level of confidence he had approached the first three with. 

Towards the end of the race, the soft to heavy ground began taking it's toll on many within the field. Eventually five horses were pulled up, including our five-year-old, as a result of the conditions. 

Here's what Christian had to say following the race: 

Cave Article has come out of his race at Doncaster well. Unfortunately, the ground ended up being too testing for him that day, and in hindsight, I probably should have pulled him out of the race. The upside is, he has picked up some experience and hopefully, that will stand him in good stead going forward.

 

We are going to wait a few weeks now to get some nice ground for him. Looking at the long-range forecast, it should start drying up next week. I’d expect him to produce a much better performance on good or good to soft ground.

 

He continues to work well at home and show me lots of positive signs, so I am not too disheartened by his opening run.

Christian Williams, Coral Racing Club Trainer