Derham backing One Horse Town to make immediate Cheltenham impact

Harry Derham believes a return to aggressive tactics with One Horse Town could help his second-season hurdler make his mark in the Masterson Holdings Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday.

The Upper Lambourn handler gave the four-year-old an outing on the Flat at Salisbury at the start of this month, a race in which the gelding finished with “jelly legs” according to jockey Saffie Osborne.

But with that head second to Roger Varian’s Treble Bass under his belt, Derham expects his charge to serve it up to a small but closely-matched field in the extended two-mile contest.

“One Horse Town will come on massively for that run at Salisbury and I was thrilled with that. I thought he would blow up with two furlongs to go and Saffie said that it was the last 100 yards that he got the jelly legs,” said the trainer.

“It was a very good run and this race has been the plan since the spring. Obviously at the ratings he has to give a penalty away which makes life hard but I actually think he will run really well. I am looking forward to him and I think he’s got a great chance.

“His form tailed off at the back-end of last year because he had raced so aggressively all season. We don’t regret doing that because he was a precocious juvenile but I think he is back in the form he was going into the autumn.”

One Horse Town won a Grade Two hurdle at Cheltenham’s November meeting last term, landing him with an 8lb penalty which makes his task more difficult against some potentially decent rivals that include Adrian Keatley’s Indian River and Dan Skelton’s Irish import North Shore.

Keatley’s charge ran down the field in the Triumph Hurdle at the Festival, finishing 10th to Apolon De Charnie, before bouncing back to finish third behind Mange Tout in the Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree in April.

Like One Horse Town he has had a recent outing, with Keatley feeling that seventh place at Market Rasen will have brought Indian River on.

“We left a lot and probably a bit too much in the tank at Market Rasen. He went from travelling to blowing up, but he has done plenty of work since and we are happy with him,” said the trainer.

“He ran a blinder and we were quietly confident of him running a big race in Aintree and he repaid our confidence. Hopefully tomorrow it is a good starting point for the season and he can get back to winning ways.”

Skelton has yet to win this contest but saddles ex-Gavin Cromwell runner North Shore, who was fourth to West Hill Verde in Chepstow’s Persian War Novices’ Hurdle on his first start for the yard.

“We are putting a pair of cheekpieces on North Shore. I saw a much better horse at home before he ran at Chepstow last time, but that was over two and a half miles,” Skelton told his Ladbrokes blog. “With the drop back in trip and cheekpieces on, it is a positive move. If the horse’s work at home comes through on the track, he will be a player.”

Jane Williams has warned La Luna Artista will improve for her first run back this season after a summer of strengthening up.

“It is not all about tomorrow. Whatever she does she will improve for because we are struggling to get the horses 100 per cent fit at the moment,” said Williams. “If you use all-weathers all the time it doesn’t make any difference but if you use grass gallops like we do, we only started using them this week so we are miles behind.

“But she was already a big, strong mare who has improved a lot during the summer. She looks very impressive. It is not a big field which should suit her.”

Faye Bramley fields Lord Byron, who was fifth in last season’s Triumph and a good second to King Rasko Grey in a Grade One at Punchestown but a disappointment in sixth behind West Hill Verde at Chepstow, and outsider Tunisya.

Brian Cawley’s In The Minus completes the seven-runner line-up.