Brendan Powell: “If War Lord bounces back to his best, he will take all the beating”
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Jockey Brendan Powell previews his weekend rides at Wetherby and Hereford.
Saturday
He has the best form out of the five runners in the race. He is obviously carrying 12 stone on his back, but he has that weight for a reason. He was disappointing at Cheltenham last time out, but he just had an off day. If he returns to anything near his form from last season, he will take all the beating in this race.
I had a look back through this horse’s point-to-point form, and out of all the horses which finished behind him on his sole start, they have all come out and won. He ran under Rules at Catterick, and he did not perform well. Possibly the course did not suit him there. I am hopeful of much more from him this time, and as I say, with that points’ form stacking up all the time, this horse is one to keep an eye on.
This horse was entered at Chepstow on Friday, and if he did run in that race, he would not feature here. I’ve not ridden him before, but he is a winner over hurdles, and he is now going handicapping where I am sure he will have more success.
Sunday
He has a relatively light weight in this race, and it appears to be a workable mark. I have ridden him to victory before, as we scored at Taunton a couple of years ago. He will need to bounce back from his record form, but the handicapper is giving us a chance to do that.
He is a horse who still bounces around at home like he is a four-year-old, as he still has a lot of enthusiasm. I am hoping he builds on his latest run at Southwell. He normally shows his best form around spring, but this looks like a race where he should be competitive. 2m will suit him, as will the decent ground.
Brendan
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