All signs are pointing to the American Champion Hurdle for Ian Williams’ Saint Riquier as he transitions from a successful Flat campaign back to hurdles.
Before this season, the six-year-old hadn’t raced since finishing last in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in October 2022. He sustained a serious injury during that race, leading to a lengthy layoff of 657 days before making his comeback at Sandown in August over 10 furlongs.
The son of Le Havre showed promise by finishing third, just two lengths behind Global Esteem, before securing a victory at Lingfield later that month.
He continued his success with a win at Leicester earlier this month, followed by a close second to Laser Focus at Brighton a week later, and then a convincing victory at Chelmsford last Saturday.
Williams now aims to bring Saint Riquier back to hurdles, with plans for a trip to Far Hills, New Jersey, in October, provided he comes through his next race unscathed at Market Rasen on Saturday.
“He’s doing great,” the West Midlands-based trainer said. “He’s returned well after his recent success on the Flat, schooled nicely this morning, and may well run at Market Rasen on Saturday. He’s a former hurdler and has a spot in the American Champion Hurdle, so it would be good to give him a prep run before heading that way. That’s the plan for now.”
“He’s just come off three quick runs on the Flat, and we’ll assess how he feels, but Market Rasen is definitely an option. It looks like a competitive race, but he’ll need to perform well in a tough field if we’re to make the trip across the Atlantic. His past performances over hurdles have been strong, just like his Flat form. He’s an older horse who has recovered from injury and is in good shape. Since he got injured when he was younger, he’s still relatively young in jumping terms.”