Gordon excited by long-awaited return of David’s Well Chris Gordon is looking forward to getting David’s Well out at Ascot in November after his impressive start to the season last term was cruelly cut short by injury. The seven-year-old won at Haydock and Cheltenham, but any hope of going to the Festival for the Grand Annual was ended by a leg injury. Gordon reports the son of Getaway, who is four from four over fences, to be fully healed and raring to go for the new season, although the weather may delay a return to the racecourse. He said: “He’s coming along nicely, lots of long slow cantering so looking forward to him and he’s in good order.” The Morestead handler suggested the timing of the injury may well have been a blessing in disguise with David’s Well needing soft ground. He added: “I would have probably gone to Cheltenham and run him on ground that was too quick for him and injured him then, and he would have had all of this year off so I was quite pleased we didn’t end up at Cheltenham in the end. “He’s a horse that wants a bit of cut in the ground. He injured himself, it was a small fracture in his femur behind and that’s healed up really well and off we go. We’ll be waiting for some cut in the ground which could be quite a long time! “There’s an interesting one at Ascot towards the end of November, that’s a nice race for him there (Castello Banfi Hurst Park Handicap Chase).” Meanwhile, Gordon’s bumper star from last season Bass Hunter is preparing nicely for a transition to hurdling this season. The Authorized gelding won impressively by eight lengths on his rules debut at Newbury and came out on top in a Listed Ascot event to book his place in the Champion Bumper. He far from disgraced himself when only a two and three-quarter length third to The Mourne Rambler at Prestbury Park and it was probably one race too much for the then five-year-old at Aintree to end the season when he finished well down the field. Gordon said: “Bass Hunter is grand. He’s coming along nicely with lots of schooling. We’re not schooling on the grass for obvious reasons, but he is coming on grand. “He’s coming along fine and he is a winner of an Irish point to point so he’s got a little bit of jumping behind him and he’s taken to it well. We haven’t gone quickly over a hurdle because we’re in the school, but for all intents and purposes he’s coming along nicely. “I’d normally have something tagged for him by now, a little maiden or a little novice somewhere but we’ll have to play it by ear with the way the ground is. The main thing is I just want to find a little one early and take it from there, play it by ear.”
