The centerpiece of the third day of the Berkshire Winter Million concept is the 2m6f chase, which appears to be a difficult task for the erratic 10-year-old given the probable competition of Protektorat and Djelo. Russell acknowledges that the season isn’t quite right for Ahoy Senor yet, but he is rekindling his passion back home in Scotland.
“Whether it’s because it takes until then to get him fit or it’s the ground, I think it’s probably the ground and the spring and everything, that’s probably when he’s at his best,” she stated on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast.However, considering that he’s been playing well at home, I believe the trip will suit him and I think the ground could dry out a little bit. “He seems in super form, Derek [Fox] has been very happy with him.”
In his two appearances so far this season, regular rider Fox has held up Dylan Thomas’s son. He had some success when he was a staying-on third at Aintree, but the Grade 1 Betfair Chase didn’t go as planned the last time. Russell remarked, “We decided at the end of last season that we can’t keep on making it with him.” Therefore, we aimed to see if we could keep him alive. Even though he was outpaced, it worked out great at Aintree. He stayed on well, and I found the run to be quite satisfying. “I think we can accomplish that, but I’ll let Derek handle it because he’s not one-dimensional. We erred in our attempt to do the same on heavy ground at Haydock.
“We definitely keep the faith, if the ground dries I’d keep the faith even stronger. His season revolves around Cheltenham and Aintree, but the trip seems right, I’ve no idea about the track and he seems definitely in the right place.”
