I was in attendance to see Hinterland's first appearance on British soil at the Open Meeting in November last year. He easily swept aside the ever-dependable Hollow Tree in the JCB Triumph Hurdle trial on Paddy Power Gold Cup day to record a 3 length victory. He was promptly inserted as ante-post Triumph Hurdle favourite. Hollow Tree is a subsequent Grade 1 winner at Chepstow where he beat home Triumph Hurdle victor Countrywide Flame. On that basis you would say that the form looks relatively solid.
On the geldings return to Cheltenham for the December equivalent of the JCB Triumph hurdle trial he was sent of a very short 2-7f. He finished 2nd behind the ultra-impressive Baby Mix. His 7 length defeat came as a bit of a shock and it appeared the bubble may have been burst. I got the impression that Paul Nicholls felt that this horse was further down in the pecking order of his juveniles last year after Pearl Swan and Dodging Bullets emerged as high class performers later in the season. The reason I felt this was because Hinterlands next entry came on Festival Trials Day in January in a handicap hurdle, rather than in the JCB Triumph hurdle trial you would have expected him to run in on the same day. Pearl Swan filled that berth from the Nicholls stable. At first I thought it may have been due to the handicap hurdle being worth more value in prize money than the Triumph Hurdle trial. However the handicap was worth £13,000 whereas the Triumph hurdle trial was worth £14,000. So this wasn't the case. Hinterland once again went off a hot favourite at 15-8f for the handicap hurdle, but seemed to have a few traffic problems. He didn't get the run of the race and this may have been why he never quite got to the leaders and finished a 5 length 3rd behind the promising Module.
He skipped the Cheltenham Festival and was saved for Aintree, where he ran in the Matalan Juvenile Hurdle against leading Triumph Hurdle protagonists Countrywide Flame, Grumeti and stable mate Dodging Bullets. We didn't learn a lot from the run as he crashed out at the 5th hurdle on the back straight. He severely hampered his stable mate Dodging Bullets and cost the stable of any chance of victory, which must of been frustrating. Although the easy thing to do was to draw a line through the run, I felt the horse wasn't running too badly. Although they were a long way from home, he was going at least as well as his stable mate Dodging Bullets. I don't know what the pecking order at Ditcheat was last year, but Ruby Walsh would have got first pick and he chose Dodging Bullets on the back of his Triumph Hurdle exploits whilst Noel Fehily rode Hinterland. Would that suggest Hinterland was below Dodging Bullets? Maybe - I interpreted it that way.
In relation to the coming season I wouldn't have a clue where Nicholls would start Hinterland as he has so many novice chasers to place. I wouldn't be surprised if he is struggling to find an appropriate starting place too! He was a good jumper of a hurdle, athletic, straight and with a low trajectory. He was probably one of the best jumpers as a juvenile last year, like so many of Paul Nicholls' horses. Bearing this in mind I don't see any problems with his jumping when he goes novice chasing this season. When I saw him in the pre-parade ring at Cheltenham he appeared to have the scope to jump a fence and although I have not seen him since November 2011 another years physical and mental maturity since then should assist him too. He ran over 2 miles last year and I would like to think he will stick to that trip this winter but a step-up to 2 1/2miles in time would probably be to his liking too. Like so many triumph hurdle horses he may prefer more of a stamina test as he matures. If this is the case, I think careful management this season could see him line up in the 2 1/2 mile handicap novice chase at the Festival next year off a juicy handicap mark. My only concern would be whether the age of 4 is too young to go novice chasing. I know Paul Nicholls would disagree with me but is 4 going on 5 too young for a horse to tackle fences? Are they mature enough ? If you look at point-to-points you would have to say it isn't a problem, but I can't help but looking at Sam Winner last year who to me didn't look ready to be a novice chaser. I hope this won't be the case with Hinterland as he appears to be really smart and is an exciting prospect for the coming season.The verdict - one to have on your side.
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