Winning over £1 million in prize money along with saddling 66 winners, including two at Grade One level, represents a more than respectable season, but trainer Ben Pauling is confident of even better things to come this campaign.
In any given season those figures are solid, however those achievements can be marked up as behind the scenes Pauling and his team at Naunton Downs had to battle with a dust issue that affected their main gallop in the spring along with a bug early on in the campaign.
However, on the track both Handstands, in the Virgin Bet Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown Park, and The Jukebox Man, in the Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park, supplied Pauling with his first Grade Ones since the 2016-17 campaign.
And with both horses back to fly the flag in open company this season, where they will be joined by an exciting crop of novice hurdlers and novice chasers along with some smart recruits from the point-to-point sphere, it is easy to see why Pauling is excited for the future.
Pauling said: “Last season as a whole, if I’m being brutally honest, the big horses turned up and won when I hoped they would, which kept our head above water, but behind the scenes it was never a smooth season.
“There was a bit of a bug here and there, nothing to stop us in our tracks, but it was our most wobbly in terms of health since we have been at Naunton, and that was right from the get go.
“It was good to hit the heights by getting back to the top of the game with Handstands and The Jukebox Man, but I fully expected them to do that.
“Some people thought I was a little bit bonkers, but I’ve absolute faith in both of those horses. I think they will both serve it up to horses in open company and be very competitive.
“We have some very nice horses behind that pair, and we have invested heavily for us. If we are going to make it further up the tree, we are going to need those horses to shine.
“We have got a very nice bunch of novice hurdles, and novice chasers, which I think can raise their game over fences, while the bumper horses look solid.
“Health wise, they seem in good form this year and there are no complaints and we are in a great place to get the ball rolling.”
AFANCY GETAWAY
“She is a very smart mare that we bought from an Irish point-to-point field. She won her point-to-point by more than 20 lengths and the third has since won for Henry de Bromhead. She is smart and could potentially be top class going novice hurdling.”
AS LEGENDS HAVE IT
“He is still a novice over hurdles, but he will probably go chasing. He ought to be good enough, or go close, in the 0-120 handicap hurdle at Ascot in November, before going chasing.
“It was a bit frustrating with him last season as it was a bit of a stop start campaign. He had muscle pulls and what not. You name it he had it.
“He is a proper little jumper and he is working nicely.”
BAD
“He was good last season in winning two handicaps. I think when he is fresh and well, and with a pair of blinkers on, he will have quite a good chance of running a big race. He is talented and jumps well.
“We took all the headgear off at Kempton Park and in our heads and hearts we thought he would improve for the run, but he couldn’t have done it any better really.
“Hopefully we won’t get murdered by the handicapper and we will look towards running him in the Paddy Power Gold Cup.
“His owner David Howden doesn’t have many days off so I might as well make it worth it when he goes so let’s go and see where we are with him.”
BETTY’S DAISY
“She won well up at Warwick and was another of my slightly disappointing runners in the Grade Two at Aintree. Her jumping wasn’t perfect, but we have done plenty of work with her and she is now much better.
“Where she fits in with the level of mares that we have as novice hurdlers I’m not quite sure, but she is in very good form with herself.
“Hopefully, we should be able to find a nice race for her.”
CALIACH POINT
“He was on the potential transfer list, but we decided to keep him as there was something I saw in him. He wasn’t moving great at the end of the season and I felt like he needed another chance.
“The plan is to send him up to the Colin Parker meeting at Carlisle in November. He might not be a star, but he is good enough to win some races.”
CHAMPAGNE TWIST
“The wheels were in different counties last season and I thought he might nearly be a horse for the Stayers’ Hurdle after winning the EBF Final the season before.
“He came back in good form, but then he fell first time out at Cheltenham in November.
“Unfortunately, he then bled at both Ascot and Huntingdon and then he went lame. It was a bit of a horror show, but he is now in good form with himself.
“He has schooled well over a fence and he will go novice handicap chasing. He could be a proper Saturday handicap type of horse. He has come a long way down the weights, but he is moving beautifully at home.”
COLLANISI
“He was third on his debut and he will now run in another bumper at Cheltenham on Saturday. He goes exceptionally well.
“He is a lot different from last year when he was a bit weak. He picked up an injury at the back end of last season, but I’m very sweet on him.
“He will go novice hurdling after that bumper run.”
CRYSTAL DAYS
“She is a nice filly that goes well and jumps well. She needed a wind operation, and had one before her Warwick run.
“We thought she was overpriced on her last start and I dare say she will improve again for seeing a hurdle.”
DE KINGPIN
“He could be a nice novice chaser that could climb the ranks in that division. He is a nice animal.
“He is probably not quite good enough for the Grade Two novice handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
“However, he is likely to be good enough to run in some better handicaps towards the end of the season.”
DIVA LUNA
“She didn’t have a bad season, and she ran well at the Cheltenham Festival, but considering what I was expecting from her it wasn’t a good season.
“I’ve schooled her at home and she is an unbelievable jumper of a fence. She will be aimed at those Listed mares’ novice chases.
“The plan is to go to Bangor in November and then from there we will plan her season out. I think we can duck and dive and win some nice races against her own sex then see where she is. I still believe she is the real deal.
“She is rated one hundred and thirty three, so she hasn’t got that much to find. I’m very happy with her and she is moving beautifully.
“She is so much more settled this season, so fingers crossed she has a good season.
“She has enough boot for two miles, but I would love to see her settle over two and a half miles. She is in serious form.”
DUNSKAY
“He was a very good bumper horse and he beat Jax Junior in that sphere. He had terrible wind issues last year, but we have had them operated on and I think they have worked.
“He has a very nice mark to go in those novice handicap chases. If he didn’t have those wind issues he would have been our best novice hurdler last season. He is one to keep on the right side of providing his wind holds up.”
FIERCELY PROUD
“I think he is best fresh and he will be trained for two halves of the season. He is going to go chasing. He could be a little bit of a bull in a China shop over a fence, but we will see.
“He is very good early doors. It was a disastrous start last season as Callum (Pritchard) came off him going down to the start at Cheltenham then he fell at Ascot, then he won there.
“He had a fibrillating heart at Newbury, but he won a big one and that paid for his season.
“We will start him at Ascot at the beginning of November. We have to get a lot of work into him as he is a real stocky sort, but he looks well.
“If he was good enough he would be a dangerous one in a Wayward Lad as he does have a lot of speed, but realistically he is a novice handicap chaser. If it doesn’t work out he will revert back to those Grade Two hurdles like the Kingwell.”
GROOVY BLUE
“He will go novice handicap chasing this season. He had all sorts of issues mentally last season. He is tricky to keep a lid on, but he does have ability.
“I feel we are on top of things with him now and hopefully he will have a better season.”
HANDSTANDS
“He ran in the Rising Stars, and fell, he then went and won the Grade Two at Sandown Park over three miles, the re-routed Grade Two Towton at Ffos Las, which was on bottomless ground, then the Scilly Isles. That was all before the middle of February.
“When The Jukebox Man got injured we should have reshuffled the pack and sent him to Cheltenham and I think he would have gone close in the three mile novices’ chase.
“We were always happy to go to Aintree, but the real shame of our season was that April was woeful and the truth of the matter was that we had terrible dust issues on the gallop.
“The plan is to go to the Colin Parker then he either goes to the Betfair Chase, Coral Gold Cup or the Peterborough Chase.
“There are not a lot of other options for him. I would say the Betfair is his best chance of winning a Grade One this season. He would have to improve at least fifteen pounds, and be improving on the day, to be competitive in a Gold Cup.
“I think he looks physically unbelievable and everything about him is in great form. I don’t think he has got the speed for a King George.
“If we don’t go for the King George, he will have an easy enough Christmas and go for the Cotswold Chase.”
HENRY’S FRIEND
“I think if he is good enough this season then we would take our chance in the Grand National. Realistically he is not a stone well in for a Grand National.
“In the Grand National of old he would have stood a good chance as he is a solid jumper, but in the Grand National of new a very well handicapped horse has to win it.
“There have been chats about the Becher Chase, along with having another go at the Coral Gold Cup, which he ran very well in considering he nearly fell half-way down the back.
“He maybe has some unfinished business in that race, but he is a lot higher now having won the Mandarin at the track really well.”
HORNICA
“This could be a very good filly. She was wrong all last season and I had barely been able to train her before her run at Cheltenham. She was held up last then and only got beat a few lengths. I think she is very good and she is an electric jumper.
“She will start over two miles, but she could be a very good filly if she learns to relax. “Potentially she could be good enough for the mares’ novice hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival as she has got the ability it is just keeping her in order.”
IT’S HARD TO KNOW
“He is a lovely horse, but I don’t quite know where he fits just yet. I tipped him in at the Challow last year, but he ran no race whatsoever half-way through the season.
“He will run once in the beginning of December then go for the novice handicap chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day that we won with Leader In The Park last year.
“I think he is tailor made for that and that is his aim. He will have a break through January and February and come back in the spring.”
JIG’S FORGE
“We were quite punchy with him last season. He won well at Ffos Las then he pulled a load of muscles and missed a load of work. He went to Doncaster in the Grade Two River Don up there, but he pulled too hard and fell in a hole.
“He went to Cheltenham and ran a blinder in the Albert Bartlett then he went up to Perth and ran really well. He ran like a proper class horse in the Albert Bartlett. He looked good, but just didn’t quite get up the hill as a young horse.
“I don’t think he quite stays three miles though so we will drop back to two and a half miles and start in the novice handicap chase over that trip at Cheltenham in November and go from there. He is very able, but he is best fresh. I would like to think he will be competing in some nice races later on.”
JIMBO SPORT
“He could be one of the dark horses of the yard as I don’t know much about him. He went and won his bumper impressively at Hereford.
“He is an exceptional jumper and the plan is to start him out at Kempton Park at the start of November.”
KALKBRENNER
“We really couldn’t get a horse around at Ayr, but he went and finished fourth. I think he has got everything to become a top class horse and I think the world of him.
“He is an exceptional work horse without even having to look like he tries. All his work is behind the bridle and I think he is a proper animal.
“We are likely to start over two miles and step him up later in the season as he would probably want two and a half miles in those better races.”
KICOUR LA
“He could be a nice staying novice hurdler. He was second in a point-to-point on his only start in Ireland.
“He is a great big, rangy horse that will be a very good chaser, but he could be a decent enough hurdler over a trip this season.”
LANESBOROUGH
“He was supposed to go to Punchestown at the end of the season, but due to unforeseen circumstances he didn’t go.
“He was then favourite for the Swinton Hurdle, but he picked up an injury two days before that, however we have got that sorted out now.
“He will stay over hurdles this season and hopefully we can get him to some nice races in the spring. I think he could be a Coral Cup type if he progresses.”
LEADER IN THE PARK
“He is talented, but wouldn’t necessarily be my idea of a horse that loves hills. Every time he faced a hill he curled up and I think he is a bit of a flat track bully.
“His owners sent him away to pre-train in an area which is riddled with hills to try and get himself using himself and seeing if we can get him to operate when faced with a mountain. “He looks a smart horse in his work this season and his jumping is very good. On a flat track he would be hard to peg back.
“The Sir Peter O’Sullevan Handicap Chase at Newbury could be an option while after Christmas the Coral Trophy at Kempton Park could be for him as he will stay three miles as well.”
LEGAL WEAPON
“He won well first time out last season, but I don’t think he was quite mentally mature enough last season as he was a very bad traveller.
“I think the whole thing was just too much for him. I would hope this season goes better. He jumps very well and still works very well.
“I think he is over those issues now. He should be a well above average novice hurdler. He should be well up to winning a couple of novices and be up for something like the big novice hurdle at Sandown Park on the final day of the season or an EBF Final.”
MAMBONUMBERFIVE
“He goes chasing with a four-year-old allowance. He took a bit of time to get to know. He was too keen and not fit enough at Cheltenham then he won the Adonis very nicely then ran averagely at Aintree, but so did everything else we sent there.
“He is a massive, gorgeous individual that has got loads of scope and size. He is bound to be a smart chaser and he should be good enough to be winning graded races. He has got to find. He has got to find twenty five pounds over fences, but he should find that no worries.
“He is entered up at Aintree on Sunday, but really he wants soft ground. There is a strong possibility that he would go to Newbury in early November then there is the handicap Kalif Du Berlais won last year back at the Coral Gold Cup meeting last year.
“If he won that you then might look at the Wayward Lad at Kempton Park over Christmas, however he would have to have proper speed for that, but it is a possibility.
“He is a very nice novice chaser for the coming season.”
MEETMEBYTHESEA
“We had an aim to get to the EBF Final last season and, considering the scope he produced afterwards, you would have to say it was a very good effort as he only got beaten three lengths. I think he is a very good horse.
“We will start him off in some two mile novice chases and I dare say that we will see him in a nice novice handicap chase come the spring.
“He has schooled well over the fences.”
MOJITO DES MOTTES
“He won his only start in Moulins and is another to be sent to us by JP McManus. He will be aimed at juvenile hurdles. He goes nicely and seems a proper horse.
“He has already got a penalty for that win, but we will tip toe along and we won’t over face him too soon. We will see if he can pick up a few races and see where he sits.”
NICE ONE ERIC
“He is only four years old. I thought I would run him in juvenile bumpers, but he picked up an injury and never came back properly last season, however it is good to see him back this season and hopefully we can make up for lost time.
“He finished a respectable fourth on his debut at Worcester the other day and hopefully he can build on that.”
NO QUESTIONS ASKED
“This is a decent horse that will go novice chasing. He was weak last season and he will improve. We will see if we can win a few novice chases and decide where to go, but he would be another one for the two and a half mile handicap at the Cheltenham Festival.
“He is in the Global Citizen type mould and he could win some Grade Two races if we place him carefully.
“He produced an average tract wash after his run in the Martin Pipe so that run can be forgiven.”
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OATSOEASY
“He fell in his only point-to-point when he was in the process of running well. He will be one for going straight over hurdles.
“He is likely to be one for two and a half miles straight up. He has got plenty of class about him from what we have seen.”
OUR BOY STAN
“He is a lovely horse, but I couldn’t believe what he did as a three year old as he was massive and backward.
“We ran him in the Listed bumper at Cheltenham first time out and he was just pipped in that and then he went to Kempton Park and probably won an okay race.
“He was going to go to Aintree, but there was no point as the ground had got too quick for him. We have schooled him and he has been an unbelievably good jumper.
“He looks very talented and has loads of gears. We will start off over two miles and see where we get to.
“He should be good enough to be featuring in some better novice hurdles come March.”
PERSONAL AMBITION
“He is not a natural over a fence. He is still a novice chaser and he likes small fields.
"We are going to aim him at some field early season targets over hurdles and then we might have one stab at the Noel at Ascot before Christmas as I think he was robbed in the race last year.
"He jumped impeccably and I don't know how they stayed together at the last, but then he got beat which was very frustrating. I feel there is unfinished business there.
“He is a talented horse, but he is probably not the bravest, but he should be picking up some nice prizes throughout the season. He could start at Aintree on Sunday."
PIC ROC
“He wasn’t ready the first two times we ran last season. We wanted to get him into the Jack Richards, which we did, but it just didn’t quite work for him.
“It was frustrating what happened at Worcester and it was similar to his first run over fences last season up at Carlisle. It was a hot race at Worcester, but it wasn’t like he was beaten when he made the mistake.
“It was hardly the perfect preparation for a big handicap though. You don’t want to chuck a horse that has had a bad experience into competitive races.
“I need to look at the programme book as I was looking at going for the Sodexo Live! Gold Cup at Ascot, but it might be an idea now to find a novice handicap or something like that to help get his confidence back.”
QUEENS ABBEY
“She ran very well in two bumpers. She didn’t quite win one, but that was through no fault of her own. She ran nicely at Cheltenham to finish fifth in the same bumper as Hornica.
“She is probably a better long term prospect when she goes over fences. She is a nice family that should be well up to winning plenty of races.”
ROCK SENSATION
“She is definitely good enough for a Grade Two EBF contest for mares at Newbury in the second half of the season. I think she wants a bit better ground.
“She wouldn’t pull the skin off milk at home, but then she was really possessed at Uttoxeter and fell in a hole. We dropped her stone last around Southwell and won well.
“She is going to go for the mares Listed bumper at the November Meeting at Cheltenham as she deserved her chance in that first and then she will go novice hurdling.”
ROYSSE
“He got beat first time out last season, but that was fine as he is a big, heavy horse. He was then going to win by thirty lengths at Newbury and had that moment there and was never quite the same horse again.
“He has come back in a totally different horse and he has got a great brain on him. You wouldn’t believe how well he has jumped a fence. He looks like a totally different horse as he really respects fences.
“He could bully small field novice chases as he has got so much ability. He is a nice horse to have, but we will try and get his confidence back and go from there.”
SAMUEL SPADE
“He is hit or miss. He never runs terribly, but he is either on turbo or not quite his best. We might look at a fence, but I think he is more of a hurdler and we might look at getting him qualified for the Pertemps as I think he is a three miler.
“He has got a lot of ability so he is the sort you could get qualified and still have a few pounds in hand as if he turned up at Cheltenham and decided he put his best foot forward he would find a few pounds.
“The day that he won at Ascot last season he cantered up and he looked really good.”
TAURUS BAY
“I love him. He won his only start in a point-to-point. I think he was well bought and he will be a good two mile novice hurdler.
“It took me a few days to convince Harry Redknapp to buy him, but he now has him with a nice man called Geoff Hill, who is a friend of Harry’s.
“I think they are going to have an awful lot of fun with this horse. He could be very good and I think he could pitch up in those graded races.”
THE JUKEBOX KID
“He has been a bit of a slow burner and he is quite a big baby. He did it nicely enough the first time out, but then the ground was too quick for him up at Ayr.
“He will be a lovely novice chaser over three miles as he is not the quickest. He would be an ideal type for the National Hunt Chase if he is good enough.
“The race I want to target though is the Grade Two Hampton Novices’ Chase at Warwick in January.”
THE JUKEBOX MAN
“He was two from two last season and they were two emphatic victories. I think he is the horse with the bit of real star quality as he has got that electric attitude.
“He is nothing but an okay workhorse, but on the racecourse he comes alive. His jumping is exceptional as he is fast, accurate, bold and clever. He has got it all.
“We are aiming for either the Paddy Power Gold Cup or the 1965 Chase as I don’t know whether he will be quite ready for the Paddy Power. He is just a big heavy horse this year and I’m not going to rush him on his legs.
“The only real aim for him is the King George. If they go a proper clip there it will suit him down to the ground. He will be cherry ripe for that race come what may. I will do whatever I have to do to have him spot on for that.
“After that we will be guided by what happens at Kempton Park. If he won the King George it would be hard not to go for the Gold Cup, but I’m also very tempted by coming back for the Ryanair trip this season as I genuinely think he is a speedy horse.
“It might be that the Gold Cup might be more his thing later on. He doesn’t need three and a quarter miles yet, though he would probably get it.”
UPTOWN DANDY
“He is a nice little horse that should be up to winning a couple of novice hurdles this season. He could get out of his own way at the beginning of last season, but he ended up running well in his bumpers. He is a half-brother to Bill Joyce and he is going the right way.”
VANDERPOEL
“He is probably up there in our top two or three for the novice chase division this season. He is electric over a fence and has bags of ability.
“He is probably good enough to start over two, but I see him being a two and a half miler, however he might stay three miles. There is lots to like about him.
“He could be one for the John Francome at Newbury, but he would need a run before that to tell us where we are.”
WOLF MOON
“He is a talented type, but I’m not sure where he fits. He is a great big lump of a thing to look at home, but he goes very well on the course.
“He ran Palladium within a length first time out when we were there to get some experience into him, but he then went on to win his next two.
“He fell foul to the delight of the dust issues we had when he ran on the final day of the season at Sandown Park.
“He will probably be a nice novice chaser as he jumps very well. He will probably be a slow burner that could end up in some better races come the spring. He loves a bit of soft ground.
“It might not be the right track, but something like the Grade Two at the Winter Million Festival at Windsor might be a right shout for him, if he is good enough, as he just eats soft ground.”
YOUR DARLING
“He had the season out and we are looking at possibly going for the Grand Sefton at Aintree. I would love to go back for the race we won at Ascot twice.
“I’ve got him dropped three pounds. He was winning these good handicaps off a lot lower marks. This will probably be his last season, but he is in as good a form as I’ve ever seen him. He has not got a lot of miles on the clock.”
OTHER NAMES TO NOTE
DROPEMATTHETSTATION came from an English point-to-point. He won his point-to-point early season and he beat what went on to be the champion point-to-pointer.
ECLAT DE MARVEL is another that arrives from the point-to-point field and he could go to Cheltenham for the Listed bumper there in November first time out, while ELATED will go in mares bumpers this season.
LHEUR DE GLOIRE was a very nice store horse last season and we have looked after him and he will go down the bumper route. LOUXOR DE GRUGY is a nice horse for Gordon and Su Hall and he will also go in bumpers.
MY MATE AJ is another likely to start off in bumpers before switching to novice hurdles. He was a bit backward last season, but he is improving fast. PERFECT PACKAGE is another nice horse from the point-to-point field and I think she could be very decent.
STARMOUNT is a half-brother to Stage Star and he is very talented. He could be very good over hurdles this season.
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