Our star once again delivered a huge performance, losing out narrowly by a head in the beginners’ chase on the 22nd October.
Excelero took a keen hold and made the early running, with Wendigo settling nicely towards the rear of the field. As the leader came back to the chasing pack, Wendigo moved into second. His jumping was very impressive throughout and he moved through the race smoothly under Gavin Sheehan. Wendigo stylishly took up the lead two out and travelled like the winner. He jumped the last cleanly and landed in front but found himself challenged by a galvanised Wade Out. The two battled to the line with Wendigo losing out by a head.
After the race, jockey Gavin Sheehan gave us his verdict on the performance:
“Wendigo there he was amazing, jumped the first beautiful. Turning into the straight first time he was keen, everytime he saw a fence he was quickening into it. He was brilliant the whole way, couldn’t fault him. I was just keeping an eye on Sean as he was the main danger, it ended up suiting him turning into a bit of a sprint. I should’ve put the race to bed at the back of two out and sent him on going down to the last. When we passed the furlong and half furlong marker we had our head infront and I thought we might do it. Just before the winning line he started coming back, I probably could have been a bit tougher on him. He’s run a massive race and it is a great step forward towards Cheltenham. You’d rather get beat here than in Cheltenham. Ultimately, I feel that I should have won that race.”
Trainer Jamie Snowden reported following the race:
“It is all about the horse progressing, we got beaten on our bumper debut and beaten on our hurdles debut. He’s the best horse in the race , he travelled like the best horse in the race and jumped like the best horse in the race. We got beaten by a horse coming with a bit of a wet sail with all the momentum. It is very hard when a horse has got momentum to re-gather and go again. His jumping was electric, Gav thought he was awesome. We will improve for the step up in trip and it’s not the end of the world getting beaten today.”
This was a highly impressive performance on chasing debut. He’s sure to improve as the season progresses, and the fluency of his jumping and the way he travelled throughout the race suggest we’re in for another exciting campaign. We are very much looking forward to seeing him back on the racecourse soon.
Shares are still available in Wendigo! Click HERE to get involved with a Grade 1 horse for only £99!
