The Conditional (nearside) seen here winning at Thurles© Photo Healy Racing
David Bridgwater will pick races sparingly for The Conditional after his excellent run in the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury.
The former Irish-trained gelding outran odds of 20-1 on Saturday, going down by a length and a half as runner-up to De Rasher Counter in the valuable and prestigious staying handicap chase, formerly known as the Hennessy Gold Cup.
It was only the seven-year-old’s third run for the Stow-on-the-Wold handler, having previously been trained in Ireland by Martin Hassett.
“I wasn’t surprised — I thought he’d win, but he ran very well,” said Bridgwater.
“We were told by the people in Ireland he was a good horse — and he is.
“We’ll see what happens. He’s only a baby, so you don’t want to be going to the well too often.”
