The National Hunt Season Bundle

Kick off the jumps season in style with Old Gold Racing’s National Hunt 2023/24 bundle. The bundle includes three very smart National Hunt prospects preparing to embark on their first full season under rules.

The bundle will give you a varied interest throughout the season and insight into the workings of three racing yards.

The horses included are Big City Roller, Running The Game and Sovereign Star. All three have grown and strengthened since either winning Point-to-Points or running in France and are now ready for the transition to Rules Racing.

Big City Roller is a striking 5-year-old gelding, now in training with Charlie Longsdon, having been bought earlier this year by Highflyer Bloodstock.

After a pleasing debut, which saw him 4th, he then went on to win in very promising style, proving himself a tough character in what was testing ground and against stiff competition. Following a summer off to allow him to develop further this decision was confirmed to be the right one as he went on to score in emphatic fashion under rules debut at Carlisle on 26.10.2023. There is definitely more to come from this promising gelding as the season progresses .

By Cityscape, who was a top-class miler in his time, his pedigree suggests he will be an interesting horse to take under rules. Charlie Longsdon is very pleased with his progress so far, informing that… ‘he just strikes me as a horse that we can kick on with and go to war with pretty sharpish’. He is currently being built back up to race fitness after a good summer holiday. Come the Autumn, owners can look forward to an exciting novice hurdling campaign.

Running The Game is an attractive 3-year-old grey gelding, now in training with Gary Moore. He was bought for Old Gold Racing at the Arqana Deauville Summer this year and was well liked at the sale and caught the eye of some notable names, who ended up underbidders. In his 3 runs on the flat he managed to place in a competitive race on what was only his second start. By a French Derby winner in Almanzor, out of a race winning mare, he is bred to compete at a high level with his half brother already scoring in what is only one of three runs to date.

Gary Moore is delighted to have Running The Game in the yard, informing us that ‘we’re very, very happy with him… he’s got the right mind to stay well enough because he’s very relaxed in his galloping’ and that ‘he has bags of size and scope about him… hopefully he’s a horse that hasn’t reached his potential yet. He’s a very sound horse. You’re not just getting one or two days out. You should get a decent season out of him’.

Sovereign Star is an imposing son of Soldier Of Fortune, who placed in two of his three Point-to-Points. He finished 3rd on his first start, not beaten far, which is impressive as the Point-to-Point scene in Ireland is extremely competitive. The winner of that race, Affordable Fury, has subsequently been placed 2nd twice in Grade 1 novice hurdles at both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals. We can reasonably put a line through his second run, as only three finished that day due to terrible conditions. However, he soon put that behind him to come out and finish 2nd on his most recent start. Sovereign Star is beautifully bred; he is by a proven Grade 1 sire by Galileo, who has produced some very smart horses over the years, including prolific and Graded race winners and out of Sovereign Lass, who is a full sister to Ballydub, a highly rated hurdler, who achieved a mark of 145. His dam’s sire, Presenting, is one of the very best sires of National Hunt horses. Sovereign Star is now with Grand National winning trainer, Donald McCain, who is enthusiastic about his future, informing that… ‘he should go through the whole system. I don’t know if you’d run him in a bumper but hurdles and fences. He looks like a big, staying horse and is just very straight forward’. The plan is to send him straight over hurdles in the winter, with a view to getting a couple of wins on the board before he goes novice chasing.

These three horses should provide their owners with the true thrill of racehorse ownership in the seasons to come with everything from bumper runs in the near future to chasing planned further down the line. A trip to the winners enclosure shouldn’t be far away!