Smart bumper horse to watch: 'He's not a slow type, which Martin can have sometimes'

Speaking on the IrishRacing.com podcast, Paddy Flood said he felt the performance of It’s Only a Game last weekend was extremely impressive, nominating the Martin Brassil-trained bumper horse as one to follow for the season ahead.

First-time out winner for Brassil is eye-catching

Flood highlighted how striking the four-year-old looked on just his second career start:

“Martin Brassil’s bumper winner, It’s Only a Game. Really good performance. He’d had a run

before at Punchestown last May. For one of Martin’s to win first time out - nine times out of

ten, nearly ten times out of ten - they improve for the run. Martin’s your old-school trainer.

He takes his time with them and lets them come rather than forcing the fitness on them. So I

think he could be a really smart horse, this guy.”

Flood also noted how physically impressive the youngster appeared:

“He looked - now I wasn’t there - but he looked a beautiful horse on the TV, with a real flow.

Not a slow type, which Martin can have sometimes, but a real promising-looking horse.”

Emma Nagle impressed by four-year-old performance

Emma Nagle was quick to add in with further praise for both horse and rider.

“Yeah, he was actually my own horse to follow as well,” came the response. “I thought John Gleeson gave

him a brilliant ride. Really patient, and to get up that gap on the rail - it looked like it was

closing. The horse was brave and showed a bit of pace to get up through there, and for a

four-year-old it was some performance, I thought.”

It’s Only a Game now looks set to be one of the more exciting bumper prospects to emerge

from the early part of the season - one firmly on Paddy Flood’s watchlist.

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