Horse In Profile: Now Is The Hour

The Irish Grand National has so far eluded Gavin Cromwell, but such is the staying power now in the hands of the Navan trainer, that it is surely only a matter of time before he adds it to his ever-growing list of prizes.

The handler has eight contenders at the five-day stage, but his number one prospect, with the right profile for this contest, is arguably the eight-year-old first-season chaser Now Is The Hour.

Festival fall

Haiti Couleurs for Rebecca Curtis is the antepost favourite for the Easter Monday spectacular, but Cromwell’s gelding was in the process of running a huge race behind Curtis’ gelding in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival before tipping up.

He was by no means done with when coming to grief at the second last, and the 4lb better off he will be with the winner entitles him to just about be favourite for this race.

Graded win over hurdles

After showing plenty of promise in points, he got off to an inauspicious start under Rules, but he improved plenty last winter, with an easy win in a Maiden Hurdle at Fairyhouse followed by a bloodless victory in a three mile Grade 2 hurdle at Haydock last February.

He had Haiti Couleur well beaten off that day, and although that heavy-ground form cannot be taken literally, it showed that he is a very capable animal when everything clicks, and the rain that has fallen at Fairyhouse in recent days will have been welcomed by his connections.

Chase career

That was his last start over hurdles as he started his chasing career just a matter of six weeks later over an inadequate two miles at Cork, while he did not run again until last December over two and a half miles at Navan.

His ‘never dangerous’ effort on that occasion was followed by another poor race at the turn of the year, this time at Punchestown, before he started to get his act together when staying on well over three miles at Navan in January.

The stable must have thought he had seriously turned a corner with that Navan outing, as he was sent off as the 6/1 clear third favourite for the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham when he reappeared two months later.

That handicap debut also coincided with his first attempt at a marathon trip, three miles four furlongs, and his relish for that test will stand him in good stead for the usually well-run Irish Grand National.