I thought he ran a blinder on his comeback in the Imperial Cup and reports are that he has come out of the race very well. Interestingly the handicapper thought he was worthy of some relief and to my surprise has dropped him 4lbs. The question then is where he will appear next. He was entered for Kelso on Saturday but annoyingly is not in the final decs. My hope is that he will appear in a decent handicap before the season is over, maybe Aintree. I watched Baileys work videos earlier this week and to my surprise First Flow could be seen schooling over the chase fences. It doesnt take Einstein to work out that at some point soon he will going novice chasing. Hopefully not before landing a decent handicap hurdle.
I'm sure Sir Barney will agree he is in the very best of hands mate Seriously though, yes he did run a blinder in the Imperial Cup and is still totally unexposed over hurdles. Do you think he is a pure 2-miler though? There is the big handicap hurdle at Aintree over 2m4f (Friday) but he has never run that distance. Swinton Hurdle perhaps? Or maybe over to the Punchestown festival?
The words ‘ivy’, 'couldn't' and ‘wall’ spring to mind. Would agree though that Aintree must be under serious consideration. Has to be a worry though that the old boy could ‘bounce’ next time out.
Update re this one - https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/flow-team-waiting-on-rain/164378 It would appear that the 'Scottish Champion Hurdle' is a possibility but more than anything the old boy needs some ease in the ground.
Have the team noted that First Flow commences his chasing career tomorrow – 3.25 Uttoxeter. The old boy faces just 2 opponents in the 2 mile Beginners' Chase.
