Grand National in line for Australian Hurdle winner Renew
THE Grand National will likely be next on the agenda for Renew which scored an all-the-way win in The Australian Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday.
Jumping over the hurdles has, for lack of a better term, renewed the career of the seven-year-old which improved its unbeaten hurdle record to four-from-four.
Irish jockey John Allen was positive out of the barriers and quickly took up the leaders role from Abede, which stuck on gamely and looked a potential threat around the home turn, but Renew pinned the ears back to score another impressive victory.
“We were a bit worried coming into today. He was disappointing last week on the flat, but once you put a hurdle in front of him he’s a different horse,” Allen said. “He attacks it with such vigor and enthusiasm and we just run them into the ground.
“He’s a horse that has lost interest on the flat, but you put a jump in front of him and his ears prick and his eyes spark up.”
The Allen and Darren Weir combination is simply on fire at the moment and Allen hopes the run continues.
“We’re having a great run and long may it last,” he added.
Weir echoed the concerns shown by Allen after its last start flat-race performance, but he was encouraged by its recent work at home and is now eyeing the Grand National.
“I was worried coming today. Last week was too bad for me to be backing a horse up normally, but Johnny (Allen) popped him around a few jumps this morning and said he felt good,” Weir said.
“It’s exciting going forward. I love jumps racing and it’s a great spectacle today.
“The plan is to go to the Grand National now. We’ll just have to map out a path to get there now.”
It’s rare for OTI Racing to have a jumper, but ownership representative Terry Henderson is pleased jumps racing can lengthen Renew’s career.
“We’re really proud of this horse, as we know he looked so promising on this track three years ago, and to see him have this rejuvenated career it’s just so exciting for all the guys,” Henderson said about the $2.10 favourite at CrownBet.
“I’m certainly enjoying winning races. I can’t say I’m at the top of the jumps fan list, but we horses get the chance to keep their career going like this horse has, it’s fantastic for racing.”