TOP-CLASS novice chaser Trafford Lad will have his first run for fledgling trainer Laurence Butler in the Poplar Square Chase at Naas tomorrow.
The seven-year-old has been in the care of Dusty Sheehy for the last two seasons, where Butler has been head lad for four years.
Butler is now ready to start his own training career and, as Trafford Lad is owned by his family, he starts off with a talented horse.
“I’ve worked for Dusty for a good 10 years and have been head lad there for four, but I’ve decided to start training myself this season,” said Butler.
“I thought it was a good time as I’m lucky to have a horse like Trafford Lad to go ahead with.
“There are six of us in the family and we all own shares in him, so I just thought I might as well start training now than wait until Trafford Lad has retired.
“Otherwise you could be waiting a lifetime for a horse like that to come along.
“He’s absolutely flying at the moment so he’ll run on Saturday, all being well. It’s only two miles, which is probably a bit sharp for him, but I want to get a run into him before we look at running him in the Hennessy.
“It’s a competitive race this weekend but it should set up nicely for Newbury, and, after that, hopefully we’ll be able to make a plan for him.”
Meanwhile, Sizing Europe remains on target for next month’s Open meeting at Cheltenham following his hugely impressive success at Punchestown two weeks ago.
The Grade One-winning hurdler took his record over fences to two victories from two starts when defeating the mercurial Harchibald by 17 lengths.
The Novices’ Chase on November 15th is the plan for Henry de Bromhead’s stable star, and the trainer is thrilled with his condition.
“He’s been in great form since Punchestown and hopefully there is still improvement to come,” said De Bromhead.
“Cheltenham is still the plan for him at the moment and we are looking forward to it. We’re very pleased with how everything is going at the moment and couldn’t be happier.”
The Grade Two event looks set to be highly informative, with Paul Nicholls’ Tataniano another possible, along with the Philip Hobbs-trained Snap Tie.
At Lingfield yesterday Frankie Dettori completed a four-timer to reach 100 winners for the season. All four came in the royal blue of Godolphin – Baila Me (3 to 1), Moonlife (100 to 30), Sirocco Breeze (15 to 8) and Padmini (11 to 10).
“I thought if I could nick a couple today it would be great,” Dettori said, “but this is beyond my wildest dreams and I have to thank my stable as they have really worked hard to get me to a 100.”
Baila Me danced away from her rivals in the Listed EBF All-Weather 20th Anniversary River Eden Fillies’ Stakes.
The four-year-old was a Group One winner in her native Germany last season, but her two runs for her new stable had not been of quite that standard. But she thrived on the Polytrack, easing away on the home turn and coming four lengths clear.
Dettori reached his century when Padmini was produced with a perfectly-timed run to make a winning debut in the EBF Weatherbys Printing All-Weather 20th Anniversary Maiden Fillies’ Stakes.
