Reigning Grand Annual winner Ablaze remains on track for the Grand National Hurdle and Grand National Steeplechase in August, despite being unplaced on the flat at his last start at Rosehill last month.
Ablaze was well supported to win the Stayers Cup over 3200 metres at Rosehill, but could only manage seventh in the 10-horse field.
Trainer Ciaron Maher, who trains Ablaze in partnership with David Eustace, said the tempo of the flat race didn’t suit the dour stayer/jumper.
“Ablaze’s last run doesn’t look the best on paper but it’s better then that,” Maher said. “They walked and then sprinted. 
“We gave Ablaze a week’s break up in Sydney after the race before taking him back to our Ballarat stable last Friday. 
“He’s as bright as a button. We’ll push ahead to the Grand Nationals and I’m confident he’ll be very hard to beat in both races.”
Ablaze has won all four jumps starts, two over hurdles and two over fences.
In other news, Maher revealed Irish-bred stayer Mind the Crack will be set for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, while his 2019 Warrnambool Galleywood Hurdle winner Big Blue will be set for feature jumps races in Victoria next year.
Mind The Crack, a winner of two from eight starts, and Big Blue are in quarantine in Sydney.
“Mind The Crack comes to our stable very well credentialled,” Maher said. 
“He’s a lovely type of horse and I’m confident he’ll measure up. 
“We took Big Blue over to England for a jumping campaign but nothing went right for us. He missed a lot of trackwork because it was so wet and that put us right behind the eightball. It was just a shame. 
“We’ll look at setting him for races like next year’s Galleywood.”
Big Blue has won three of his four jumps starts in Australia.
Symphony is coing
The breeding ranks in the Western District have received a boost with first-season sire Royal Symphony to stand at Claremont Thoroughbreds Balmoral.
Royal Symphony won four of his eight starts and ran fourth in the 2017 Cox Plate behind the mighty mare Winx.
Stud manger Greg Daffy is excited about the new acquisition.
“We’ve had a lot of calls from breeders,” he said. 
“He’s a beautiful type  — he stands 16 hands — and has a great record. He was undefeated as a two-year-old. 
“We’ve found out since we bought him that a lot of people watched his racing career very closely. We’re expecting to get 80 to 100 mares for his first season. 
“We’ve kept him very affordable with his service fee under $5000, which we think is great value.”
Royal Symphony was a dual listed winner and earned $443,035 from his eight starts.
Balmoral is located between Hamilton and Horsham.
Two for Trude
Hamilton hobby trainer Trudy Cottier shared the honours with tops jumps trainer Eric Musgrove at Warrnambool last Sunday. 
Cottier trained both highweight flat winners on the eight-event program with Delightful Scoop and Allaboutatitude.
 Tiger Tim won a maiden hurdle for Musgrove while Gobstopper in the Kevin Lafferty Hurdle was his other winner. 
Riding honours for the meeting were shared by Tom Ryan and Lee Horner with a double apiece. Ryan rode Cottier’s two winners. Horner won on Bee Tee Junior and Flying Agent.
Gobstopper’s Lafferty win, coming on top of wins earlier in the season in the Galleywood Hurdle and Australian Hurdle, have him in the box seat to win this year’s Jim Houlahan Award for Australia’s champion jumper. 
A victory in the Drechsler Hurdle at Pakenham on Sunday week would nearly seal the prestigious trophy for Gobstopper.
Butch eyes Annual
Four-time Grand Annual-winning jockey David “Butch” Londregan couldn’t help but think of the famous race after his jumper Hierarchal won a maiden hurdle at the track on Sunday.
Londregan, who trains two horses at Colac these days, said Hierarchal will be set for the Grand National Hurdle in August before a campaign aimed at the 2021 Grand Annual.
“I’ve only got the two in work and they both come from Mackay in Queensland,” he said.
“Hierarchal is a tough horse. I think there’s plenty of improvement in him. 
“I think he’ll make a top ’chaser. I won the Annual four times as a jockey and would love to win one as a trainer.”
Londregan’s Grand Annual victories were on Thackeray in 1979 and 1980, Kaimoto in 1981 and Brigade in 1985.
Black-booker
• Flying Agent: caught the eye of jumps fans with an easy victory in a maiden steeplechase at Warrnambool. He’s ready to take the next step to tougher steeplechases, but punters might have missed the good odds.