O’Shea hatches bold Cheltenham plan for hunter chase star Barton Snow

Cheshire point-to-point trainer Joe O’Shea has hatched an audacious plan to stun the best at Cheltenham next March by aiming his star hunter chaser Barton Snow at the Queen Mother Champion Chase or maybe even the Champion Hurdle.

O’Shea sent the nine-year-old out of his small Nantwich yard to land a famous double last season, winning both showpiece races in his sphere at Cheltenham and Aintree.

Now the irrepressible O’Shea is telling the gelding’s owners, the MMI Partnership, to “dream big” and send him from the pointing fields to tackle the best in either the Champion Hurdle or the Champion Chase.

“The owners have been on to me and said where do you want to go this season so I said let’s go and win the Champion Hurdle,” said O’Shea. “I’ll win a couple of point-to-points and a Hunter Chase and send him into training 15 days before.

“We would send him to Laura Morgan, win the Champion Hurdle. If he gets beat I’ll have him back for Aintree. And if not the Champion Hurdle then we will go for the Champion Chase – one of those two.”

Asked for the reaction of the owners to the season’s masterplan, O’Shea admitted they “just started laughing”, but he has assured them he is deadly serious and in any case believes they have the Hunter Chase at the Festival already sewn up with a stablemate.

“I have told the owners we’ve got the Cheltenham winner in Boley Bob. ‘You are going to win it anyway’ I told them as it’s the same owners. That or be second to Barton Snow (if they send him there).

“But I’m telling you this is a flying machine. He is unbelievable. An absolutely amazing horse and we see it every day.”

Barton Snow has just started cantering as he builds towards a first point-to-point of two in late October or early November before taking in a Hunter Chase at Haydock and then being readied for the Festival.

“He looks better than ever,” said the trainer, who trains 14 pointers at his Cheshire yard. “We’ve just upped him a gear this week, but you ain’t seen nothing yet. He has never failed to surprise me. He is only a little horse, but he has matured and the five months he has had off have done him the world of good.

“He hasn’t got bigger, but he’s got stronger and we are absolutely over the moon with him. We have just moved up and done his trotting and now he has started cantering and away we go.”

As a point-to-point trainer only, O’Shea cannot train Barton Snow for either of the two ambitious Cheltenham targets, but can receive him back in time to oversee him for a defence of his Foxhunters’ crown over the Grand National fences.

Unless he wins or is placed in either of the championship races which would rule out Aintree. If he does that, you suspect O’Shea will be quite happy to formulate a Plan B.