Dods hurdling towards Cheltenham (From The Northern Echo)

Dods hurdling towards Cheltenham

8:00am Monday 13th February 2012 in Horse Racing News By Scott Wilson

NEXT month's Cheltenham Festival could have an unexpected North-East participant after flat trainer Michael Dods decided to turn his hand to jumps racing this winter.

Dods' Tiger Reigns has been entered in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, the opening race of the Festival on Tuesday, March 13, and will line up at Prestbury Park provided the weather enables him to have at least one prep run first.

The six-year-old is a seven-time winner on the flat and has been rated as high as 102, with his most recent success coming in the Class Two Ayrshire Handicap in September 2010.

His owner, Joe Buzzeo, is a keen fan of jumps racing and has always wanted to have a runner at Cheltenham.

With that in mind, Dods has been working with jockey Barry Keniry to school Tiger Reigns over hurdles this winter, and is eyeing a Festival debut as long as the recent cold snap ends in time for him to give the horse a preparatory outing.

"He went to Dubai last winter, but didn't really shine over there," said Dods, who trains at Denton, near Piercebridge. "The owner likes National Hunt racing, so we thought we'd try something different.

"He's always been a pretty decent flat horse, so if he takes to hurdling, we could have an exciting prospect on our hands. There are a lot of ifs and buts at the minute, but the plan is to go to Cheltenham.

"That's what we're aiming for, but it's important to get a run into him as soon as we can. He was supposed to run at Doncaster last Thursday, but unfortunately the meeting was abandoned.

"We have a couple of entries this week at Ayr and Kelso, and we're hoping at least one of those will go ahead.

"I wouldn't be taking him to Cheltenham without a race because we need to see that he can transfer what he's being doing on the gallops on to the racetrack."

Dods is hardly a seasoned National Hunt campaigner, but Tiger Reigns will not be his first runner over jumps.

Five or six years ago he combined codes much more regularly, and one of his most popular horses, Best Prospect, claimed three hurdle victories as well as seven wins on the flat.

"We've always had some hurdles on the gallops, it's just that this winter we've chosen to use them," said Dods. "We had hurdlers and jumpers a few years ago, and I've quite enjoyed going back to that again.

"Tiger Reigns has worked well at home. Barry has been happy with him but we still need to see him on a racecourse."

Dods took some time out from Tiger Reigns' preparations at the end of last week to travel to Dubai to oversee Sweet Lightning's training programme.

The seven-year-old recorded the biggest success of Dods' career at the start of last season when he claimed the William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster, but has not run since because of a leg injury.

He has been training in Dubai and is ready for his first run of the winter in the Emirates in preparation for a possible defence of his Lincoln crown in April.

"He's been cantering and seems in good form," said Dods. "He's missed a lot of work because of his training, but he's gradually getting back to where we'd want him to be.

"He's not quite ready yet, but we're hoping to run him in a race or two over the next couple of weeks. He's entered in the Lincoln again, but it's a bit early to say what his plans will be yet."

The current winter snap might have decimated the racing schedule at home, but conditions are still much better than last year, when the ground was frozen for up to a month at a time.

"The horses are noticeably better this year than they were at the same period 12 months ago," said Dods. "They're much further forward in their coats, so that augurs well for the start of the season. We've had quite a mild December and January, and that generally helps."