Gary Moore has lamented this jumps season as the worst he has known since he got his licence in 30 years ago.
Despite having success in valuable races with Goshen and Botox, he said that the unseasonably dry weather followed by the recent bitter temperatures have led to an incredibly challenging few months.
“This has been the worst season I’ve ever known for training jumps horses,” he said. “If it isn’t quick ground you’ve got too much sun on the hurdles and fences, so they’re omitted, and then you’ve got these mass cancellations of meetings due to the freezing temperatures. It’s bonkers and never-ending.”
“It’s difficult to navigate as a team because the horses are ready to run and we’ve been in limbo this week. We can’t back off them because there’s always a chance racing might be on, even if realistically we think it won’t be. We just have to keep our fingers crossed things thaw out.”
“Then the races aren’t there when you want them. There aren’t going to be small novice hurdles around for young horses as everyone is going to run in them. Who would be a jumps trainer?”
Moore, who is based in West Sussex, has showcased two very smart prospects in Authorised Speed and Givega in recent months. Both of them started their seasons at Lingfield where Gary Moore believes has been the only course to provide genuine soft ground.
“The ground has been the main factor,” he said. “The only two meetings that have had proper soft ground this season were at Lingfield. We just haven’t had much rain. Since when do courses water in November? I’ve never known anything like it before.”
When the weather settles, the train has much to look forward to and he is hoping forecast rising temperatures mean he will soon be able to give opportunities to a number of good prospects.
The trainer isn’t far off debuting another top-class prospect, with French import Bo Zenith to make the move to his more established stablemates at Kempton.
He was last seen beating impressive Cork winner Blood Destiny at Auteuil in April and is already at most 20-1 for the Triumph Hurdle in March.
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