Brilliant Ballymore winner City Island set to switch to fences says Brassil

City Island, conqueror of Champ in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham last March, will be sent over fences this season according to trainer Martin Brassil.

The six-year-old is as short as 16-1 with Coral and Ladbrokes for the 2020 Champion Hurdle, but Brassil believes City Island could come into his own over fences and thinks he will stay three miles.

Watch City Island beat Champ in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle

"The plan is for City Island to go over fences," Brassil said. "He has summered really well and is in lovely form at home. He is getting plenty of work at the moment and the plan is to do a bit of schooling with him soon and look for a beginners' chase towards the end of November or early December.

"He has a good technique of jumping hurdles and you would like to think that will stand to him over fences. You could spend another year over hurdles but I think the time is right to go chasing.

"He's very versatile. He has won over two miles, two miles and five at Cheltenham and I don't think three miles would be a problem for him either."

Mark Walsh celebrates after guiding City Island to victory in the Ballymore Novices' HurdleCredit: Getty Images

After his brilliant Ballymore win, City Island was sent off the 11-10 favourite to sign off for the season in style in a Grade 1 at the Punchestown festival but he faded into fifth behind Reserve Tank.

However, Brassil thinks there was a perfectly plausible excuse for that below-par effort.

He said: "Looking back on it, he had a very easy time of things before Cheltenham. He won his races easily and Cheltenham was the first time he really had to race.

"Before Punchestown, he had looked like he recovered well and he looked great, but you never really know until you run them and he was probably still feeling the effects of his Cheltenham exertions."

City Island is 12-1 with Paddy Power for the Racing Post Arkle and JLT Novices' Chase at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival, while bet365 and Boylesports also make him a 12-1 shot for the RSA Chase.

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