Cheltenham target for Hector
Royal Hector looks set to return to novice company at Cheltenham on Saturday for the first time since he joined Martin Pipe’s stable.
The six-year-old, who was trained by Andy Hobbs until the end of last season, has improved in leaps and bounds this term, scoring five times in the space of 24 days during December, with his official rating rising by over 30lb.
All the gelding’s victories were achieved in handicap company, but he had not won over timber before joining Pipe and so is able to contest the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Novices’ Hurdle, a Grade Two event that has attracted the likes of Villon, Brewster and Gold Medallist.
It is the aim of Royal Hector’s owners, Three Counties Racing 2, to see him run at Cheltenham, but with more credit than when he appeared there for Hobbs in 2003, when he finished well down the field.
“He didn’t run a particularly good race, but that was in a previous life,” Nick Scanlan, one of the owners, told the Gloucestershire Echo.
“It’s very exciting that Martin has entered him. We did say when Hector went there that our dream was to have a runner at Cheltenham.
“Martin will see how he is later in the week, but if he runs, that would be perfect.
“It’s brilliant to have a horse with him, as he makes entries all over the place and we have a chat with him about where the horse is going.
“The distance of the race on Saturday would be ideal for Hector and if he runs well, who knows?”
