Pauling hopeful winter blues have been banished as Global Citizen leads recovery

Ben Pauling may have had to navigate a tricky start to the season, but the trainer is hoping the green shoots of recovery which were on show over Christmas can lead to a better second half of the campaign.

Like many jumping yards, Pauling traditionally gets going at the end of October, but progress was stalled this term with the horses failing to perform.

October and November yielded only one winner from 20 runners, while Pauling and his team tried to figure out what was afflicting the string.

"It has been a tough start to the season, that's for sure," Pauling said on Monday. "The horses looked well at home and seemed well in themselves but weren't performing at all on the track.

"It didn't take us long to realise so we decided the best route was to pull up stumps quite quickly and find out exactly what was wrong.

"We did an awful lot of tests and the only thing we could come up with was there was a batch of hay which we'd already finished that was particularly low in potassium and calcium, which is a lot to do with energy."

Although nothing else came to light, Pauling believes the bad batch of hay was only a contributing factor and added: "I'd say there was something else underlying as well, but there was nothing to be seen on bloods or tracheal washes and there were no snotty noses. It was a very frustrating time for everyone."

Happily for Pauling, rest and recuperation seems to have done the job, with five winners in December, and the trainer said: "The horses are all in good health. It's going as well as can be expected. The big disadvantage is we're running first time out on heavy ground against horses who have already had two or three runs."

Global Citizen was the main source of Christmas cheer for the yard when winning the Wayward Lad at Kempton, and the novice chaser is now heading to Cheltenham for the Racing Post Arkle.

The eight-year-old was under consideration for another crack at the Champion Hurdle, a race he finished seventh in last season, before winning the Kempton Grade 2.

"He's always been a very nice horse," Pauling said. "He has a lot of speed and a great attitude. We did a lot of work on his jumping after Carlisle and he jumped brilliantly at Kempton. It was great to see him reproduce the same sort of form he showed over hurdles."

Another run between now and Cheltenham looks unlikely for Global Citizen, who is rated a general 16-1 chance for the Arkle.

Pauling added: "He's best fresh so will be left alone between now and Cheltenham. There will be questions about him on an undulating track but he's not been to one when in good form. He could go on to Aintree as well."

Did you know you can bet via the Racing Post mobile app/website? Simply sign in with your favourite bookmaker via the Accounts button and then bet direct from our racecards