Trainer Chris Barber will not be declaring favourite Famous Clermont for Thursday’s Randox Foxhunters’ Chase, saying heavy going would “bottom the horse”.
The current going of soft/heavy in places on the Grand National course is causing concern to many trainers aiming horses at the three-day Aintree meeting, and Dorset-based Barber has decided not to risk his nine-year-old. Famous Clermont was an impressive winner of last year’s Randox Foxhunters’ Chase.
He said: “To be honest I’m heartbroken at the moment. The whole team is gutted. I’ve planned all year to get the horse back to Aintree.
“He’s in good form and very happy, but if we pulled him about on unsuitable ground we wouldn’t get him back.”
Famous Clermont’s 2023 victory at Aintree came off the back of an easy win at Haydock and spirited effort in Cheltenham’s Festival Chase where he was beaten for stamina, not ability. However, his route to Aintree this season has not been as smooth, with defeat in a Larkhill point-to-point on his season’s debut, a win against one opponent at the same course and then defeat when odds-on for a Wincanton hunter chase.
Barber said: “Will felt the ground at Wincanton didn’t suit the horse – he was fine while they hacked for two miles, but when the pressure came on he struggled to pull himself out of the ground. I felt there was a bit of improvement to come from that run, but since then he has worked on good ground at Larkhill and it was one of the best pieces of work he has ever done.”
Chris Barber: 'I've planned all year to get the horse back to Aintree' (photograph: Debbie Burt)
Possible targets for Famous Clermont now include Punchestown’s Champion Hunters’ Chase, which Biddick has won twice on Caid Du Berlais, or Stratford’s Champion Hunters’ Chase. The latter race would stretch Famous Clermont’s stamina, but Barber feels a flat track and good ground at the end of May might prove suitable.
He added: “Another alternative would be for the owners to send the horse down the road to Anthony Honeyball to target one of the handicap chases at Punchestown. That would be hard to take, but it is an option.”
Lamenting this enduring season of wet weather, Barber said: “I’ve never had a tougher season. It’s not only the rain, but lack of frost which has meant a lot of horses have been sick. It’s the same for everyone, not just one person.”
Declarations for the Randox Foxhunters’ Chase close this morning.