GABRIEL’S GETAWAY put in an assured round of jumping, ridden by Rex Dingle, on his way to a commanding victory on his first start over fences at Taunton on Tuesday in a the Stables Business Park Novice Handicap Chase off a mark of 89.
He has always been a very sound jumper at home, a bit like a ballerina, but he has been a touch disappointing on the track until now.
He has plenty of size and scope so we kept the faith after taking some positives from a bumper run at Ludlow where he was a respectable fourth.
At times Gabriel’s Getaway has been running on ground that was a bit soft for him and he hasn’t really finished his races. So we kept dropping him in to try to get him to see his races out better.
We also decided he wanted better going and the Taunton race came on drier ground than we normally encounter at this time of year.
It was lovely to see him enjoying himself from the start, jumping so well before finishing his race as if he could have gone round again. Thankfully he seems to have got the hang of things at last. I’m so pleased for his owners Jan Buckingham, Martyn Chapman, Howard Kingston and Gill Langford who have had to be patient with Gabriel’s Getaway.
There is no question of him turning out again at Southwell on Wednesday but he could well run under a penalty somewhere before he is re-assessed.
