Fehily team lining up dual Sandown assault
The Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate have a Saturday to savour as both Love Envoi and Tahmuras are aiming to shine at Sandown.
The ownership group is run by Fehily and fellow former rider David Crosse, with both Sandown entrants flying the flag in their silks across the past few seasons.
The Paul Nicholls-trained Tahmuras was a point-to-point winner and then a good bumper horse last year, winning one National Hunt Flat contest and going down by just a neck in another.
He made his hurdles debut at Chepstow in November, contesting a 15-runner maiden and prevailing by eight lengths under Nicholls’ stable jockey Harry Cobden.
Later in the same month he headed to Haydock for the Listed Newton Novices’ Hurdle, and again the six-year-old was a winner when coming home five and a half lengths clear of his nearest rival.
A step up in class for the Grade One Tolworth Hurdle now awaits on Saturday, with Fehily hopeful the bay can prove up to the task.
“He’s been brilliant this season, he’s won his two hurdle races and was quite impressive at Haydock,” Fehily said.
“It’s a step up in class but we’ve got to see if he’s up to it.”
Sandown is also the target for Harry Fry’s Love Envoi, winner of the Grade Two Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last season.
The seven-year-old started her campaign at Sandown in early December, winning a handicap hurdle under a heavy allocation in open company.
She will contest the Listed Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Mares’ Hurdle at the same track at the weekend, a race intended to pave the way back to the Cheltenham Festival.
“Love Envoi won around Sandown last time, she’s been in good form so we’re looking forward to getting her out again,” Fehily said.
“She was really tough and the second (Playful Saint) has gone out and won under top weight since and that’s always nice to see.
“She’s won around the track twice before, so we’re looking forward to going back there.
“That will be the plan, the Mares’ Hurdle is where we want to go and hopefully Saturday is another stepping stone to getting back there.”
The pair are providing Crosse and Fehily’s syndication venture with a great deal of success in what is a relatively early stage in their partnership.
“Myself and David Crosse do it together, we both have the same ambition. We both want horses that are good enough to compete in these sorts of races and luckily we’ve got a few nice ones this season,” Fehily said.
“Cheltenham Festival winners, as I know from when I was riding, are so hard to come by.
“To get one last year was unbelievable and the dream will be to get another one, but we won’t be taking anything for granted because I know how hard they are to get.
“We’ll go back there this year and give it our best, it’s a very hard place to win.”
