We’re just 10 out from the next race meeting at Ludlow, and if the last few events are anything to go by, we’re in for another corker.

Throughout February, trainers including Lucy Wadham, Henry Daly, Emma Lavelle, Stuart Edmunds, and Syd Hosie all attained winnings for the chases and hurdles – with their respective mounts including Game On For Glory, Jour D’Evasion, Monks Meadow, Arizona Cardinal, and Latin Verse.

These horses are likely to set the racecourse alight again, but it’s not just Ludlow where they could enjoy success. While they may not yet be as famous as this week’s horses at Cheltenham, their career so far suggests that they will have a bright future, and there’s nothing stopping them putting in excellent performances there if they get the chance.

So in the lead up to their next big event, we’re going to look at the success of these horses in other races, and whether their victories put them in good stead to eventually make a strong showing at Cheltenham.

Game On For Glory

Game On For Glory is an eight-year-old Irish-bred mare, trained by Lucy Wadham, and sired by the stallion Fame And Glory. Her breeder is none of than Nina Carberry, someone who knows a thing or two about the top echelons of the sport.

So far in her career, she has won 3 races, with her first over fences here at Ludlow at the end of last month. She graduated from a bumper win at Warwick to a novice hurdle at Lingfield in the winter of 2021, then incurred a lengthy break, so it’s taken a while for Wadham to get Game On For Glory back on track, but now that her horse is flying, she has room for more improvement. With a rating of 119, she’s unlikely to figure in a festival contest any time soon, but there is plenty else to aim at.

Jour d’Evasion

At just five-years-old, Jour D’Evasion hasn’t had to wait long before entering the Winner’s enclosure, having run only five times since the autumn. Trained by Shropshire’s racing royalty Henry Daly, the horse needed to do no more than be ridden out to the line by jockey Sam Twiston-Davies, whipping away the competition in a race that raised the eyebrows of even the most omniscient pundits. With experience at Huntingdon and Market Rasen, it’s likely we’ll be seeing a lot more from Jour D’Evasion in the near future whilst softish conditions favour him.

Arizona Cardinal

Then again, so too is the high-flyer Arizona Cardinal, who is trained by Stuart Edmunds. At eight-years-old, Arizona Cardinal has won 6 races, but the most recent Forbra Gold Cup set up a tilt at Aintree’s Topham Chase. It’s a truism that runners in the Topham that do well put themselves right into contention for the following year’s National, which adds another circuit of Aintree’s National fences.

There’s plenty of water under the bridge to be traversed before then however, but the son of Kayf Tara is earning his keep, the Ludlow win following on from a similar race at Leicester and earning him a rating of 128.

Latin Verse

Latin Verse is only aged four, but has already run in 6 juvenile hurdles. Since july of last year, he’s had more trainers than many have in a lifetime, being a casualty of Milton Harris’ licence withdrawal. Trained by Syd Hosie, the races this horse has won include Catterick and Ludlow, so in the right class, he’s more than competitive.

When upgraded to listed class at Aintree in December, he was a distant fifth, but the filed that finished was well strung out on heavy ground, so he may merit another tilt at a higher grade, even if not necessarily Cheltenham just yet.

A bright future

One of the key attractions of a day at a country track like Ludlow is being able to spot a future star. it doesn’t happen every day, but horses often have to earn their place in the top flight through less remarkable races away from the public glare. One excellent example is Iberico Lord, a supplemented entry in the Champion Hurdle, who embarked upon his novice career in a lowly novice hurdle at Stratford less than 12 months ago, but has since won two highly competitive handicaps that merit his inclusion in the blue riband of the hurdling scene.

In short, don’t rule out a horse just because its record includes winners away from the limelight.