Bryan Cooper’s satnav is going to be busy over the coming weeks and months, as he works himself into his new role as Alan Potts’s No1 rider in Britain and finds his way to some of our more remote jumping outposts. It is Ludlow on Wednesday afternoon for two rides, then hopefully Chepstow on Saturday for the fencing debut of Finian’s Oscar, after which he can start chalking off tracks like Taunton, Hereford and Wincanton, three courses at the heart of west-country jumping where Cooper has yet to set foot.
Few, if any, jockeys taking up a prominent role in National Hunt racing in Britain in recent years can have done so with so little experience of the wide variety of challenges it presents. In all, Cooper has had 158 rides in Britain in his career with 17 winners, but 10 of those wins were at Cheltenham and four more at Aintree. His only other British winners have come at Sandown, Newcastle and, less than a fortnight ago, in a bumper at Market Rasen.
That latest success was for owner Andrew Brooks, who persuaded Cooper to travel over for a handful of rides in September and October after he lost his job as first jockey to Michael O’Leary’s powerful Gigginstown Stud operation. The new link with Potts gives him access to a string of proven and potential Grade One performers, however, and if he can have a bit more luck with injuries than he had over the three years of his association with O’Leary, the next chapter in his career could yet prove to be as rewarding as the one that has just closed.
Mick Thonic (4.00) could be the one to get the new team off to a winning start at Ludlow, while Braquer D’Or (3.00) should take the card’s feature event for Paul Nicholls and Sam Twiston-Davies, who will be regular midweek foes for the Cooper-Tizzard axis in the months ahead.
El Principe (4.20) will be hard to beat on the Flat card at Nottingham, but the best bets of the day could be at Kempton Park in the evening. Blue De Vega (7.55) is a very interesting new recruit to the Robert Cowell stable and while his fitness needs to be taken on trust after nearly five months off, he should be too good for this field if the switch to Cowell’s yard works its magic. Exquisite Ruby (8.25) also catches the eye on the same card, after an improved run to finish a close fourth in a decent time on her return to an artificial surface last time out.
Wednesday’s tips
Nottingham 1.45 Wafeer 2.15 Kick On Kick On 2.50 Sevenna Star 3.20 Knight In Armour 3.50 Pacific Salt 4.20 El Principe 4.55 Italian Heiress 5.25 Quids In
Ludlow 1.55 The Statesman 2.25 Miss Spent 3.00 Braquer D’Or 3.30 Excellent Team 4.00 Mick Thonic 4.35 Tempestatefloresco 5.10 Nalinka De La Mare
Towcester 2.05 Thelunarschooner 2.40 Gibson Park 3.10 Cool Macavity 3.40 Shanksforamillion 4.10 Dontminddboys 4.45 Raving Bonkers
Kempton Park 5.20 Banta Bay 5.55 Glendevon 6.25 Multicultural 6.55 Wine List 7.25 Eldritch 7.55 Blue De Vega (nap) 8.25 Exquisite Ruby (nb) 8.55 Prince Jai
(all times BST)
