Smith hoping for clear run this term with Ronald Pump Trainer Matthew Smith is looking towards the autumn with his smart staying hurdler Ronald Pump. The Kilmessan, Co. Meath handler, who was on the mark with sprinter Master Matt (sixth win for the yard in the last two years) at Tipperary last night, sent his stable star by direct ferry for an ambitious tilt at the French Champion Hurdle a little over a week ago which didn’t quite work out. Robbie Power rode the 8-year-old into a distant fifth place in the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil on May 22nd, behind the runaway winner L’Autonomie, who is a star of the hurdling scene in France and was winning for a remarkable thirteenth time at the Parisian venue. Third in last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle, Ronald Pump chased home Honeysuckle in the Hattons Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse last December before a splint in a front leg ruled him out of a return to Cheltenham. He was back in time for Punchestown where he finished third behind the impressive Klassical Dream in the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle. The Schiaparelli gelding is without a win since taking a beginners’ chase at Fairyhouse in November 2019, having won four of his previous five hurdle races in the 12 months prior to that. Reflecting on Ronald Pump’s most recent performance, Smith said: “He ran very flat and just never travelled at all. He’s come back fine from France and we’ll give him a nice summer break. “He was a bit unlucky with a few problems and missed a good bit of last season. “Hopefully he’ll have better luck this season and we’ll aim at the good staying hurdles again.”
