Amaulino© Photo Healy Racing
Ulster National winner Amaulino has Down Royal’s feature meeting in November as a target.
Keith Watson’s six-year-old was pulled up in a Grade Three handicap at Aintree’s Grand National meeting and plans to run in the Midlands National at Kilbeggan have been scrapped.
Watson’s son Marshall said: “Amaulino picked up a bit of a cut in Aintree, things didn’t go his way there and he was pulled up.
“Maybe we were aiming a wee bit for the stars that day, but the owner wanted a day out and it was an experience and a half to have a runner.
“The Midlands National (at Kilbeggan in July) is no longer the plan. Going forward we have decided to give him a big, long break and what we are planning to do is to go for a hurdle and then the Grade Two second-season novice at Down Royal in November.
“He’s up to 130 now and we like to support our local meetings.”
Stablemate Manomine is likely to mix hurdling and chasing, with the Galway Festival in his sights.
The 10-year-old was well beaten last week and Watson added: “He was just running on empty in Tramore (having won previously). He likes to buck out and make all.
“He’s like that around here at home, he bombs up the gallop every single morning. That’s why you can’t get a gauge on where he is as he’s always in this forward-going mood.
“We’ll give him a couple of weeks break and we might mix it between the flat and hurdling. Jimmy (Matthews, owner) is from Sligo and he is keen on him going to Galway.
“It would be whatever he can get into — he is (rated) quite low on the Flat, but we don’t even mind sticking him in a novice hurdle.
“I don’t want to go to the well again too soon because I don’t want him to go back to his old ways.”
