WESTERN CHARM was a decisive winner on her second career start in a bumper on really deep ground at Wincanton on Thursday in the colours of Ron Huggins.
He moved quickly to buy her from her breeder John Haydon in February 2024 after seeing her half-sister Stainsby Girl beat our smart mare Coquelicot in a Listed Hurdle in heavy ground at Haydock.
The attraction for Ron was that Western Charm’s dam Charmaine Wood was by his great stayer Double Trigger who won the Goodwood Cup three times and eleven other races in a stellar career.
It was a canny purchase by Ron given that Stainsby Girl won nine times.
But he has had to be patient because Western Charm was a bit weak last season while in training and not overly healthy at times.
She did well over the summer and worked nicely at Kempton three months ago before showing some promise on her debut at Plumpton where we decided to ride her patiently because she was quite keen at home.
This time, again ridden by Ben Godfrey, she was always handy behind the leaders and clearly relished conditions before moving into contention on the home turn and galloping clear for a bloodless victory which earned a handy £5,000 GBB bonus.
The future is bright for Western Charm who could run in another bumper while there is plenty of cut in the ground.
Photo credit Wincanton Racecourse/Francesca Altoft Photography
