Fergal O'Brien hoping long-term plan comes to fruition in series final

Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Fixed Brush Hurdle Series Final Novices' Handicap Hurdle | 2m4f | 3yo+ | Sky

Fergal O'Brien has made a blistering start to the 2021-22 jumps season with 56 winners already on the board – 12 more than any other trainer – and an eye-popping 22 per cent strike-rate.

With a career-best tally in sight before the jumps season has even hit full stride, O'Brien bids to claim Worcester's feature race with Brief Ambition and Ultimate Getaway, who have been campaigned with this series final in mind.

Brief Ambition is better suited by the race conditions than any other horse in this line-up and his place at the top of the market is justified. Unexposed, a course-and-distance winner, Listed-placed in bumpers and leniently treated off a mark of 119, there is little not to like.

Perhaps the one negative is his finishing effort. Brief Ambition regularly idles after the final flight of hurdles and if he hadn't already stamped his authority on his qualifying race here, or when last seen at Perth, the result may have been different.

Ultimate Getaway's biggest question mark is his jumping. The seven-year-old fairly bolted up by eight lengths in his qualifier here in June but made a number of costly mistakes at Stratford when last seen. Perhaps the return to an easier jumping test at Worcester will see him in better light.

Ultimate Getaway: won his qualifier for this race in dominant fashion in JuneCredit: Steven Cargill

Should stamina come into play, Roque It could prove to be the biggest danger to the O'Brien-trained pair. The Paul Nicholls-trained hurdler enters handicap company for the second time off a workable mark of 116 and could be open to further improvement on his second start since a wind operation.

Taste The Fear, who drops in trip for trainer Richard Newland, looks the likely pacesetter and has been freshened up with this race in mind, while Bigbadmattie, who is fitted with a first-time tongue-tie, steps up from 2m and appears feasibly treated off 109.
Race analysis by Tom Collins

What they say

Richard Newland, trainer of Taste The Fear
He's had a short break and it remains to be seen if he needs the run fractionally, but he's going nicely. He's coming back in trip, which might be a challenge and he's got top weight, so has a few things against him. However, if the ground softens that won't be against him, but might be against some of the others.

Fergal O'Brien, trainer of Brief Ambition and Ultimate Getaway
I'm very hopeful. This has been Ultimate Getaway's long-term plan since he qualified for it, although that's the same for Brief Ambition, who is also a course-and-distance winner. He wouldn't want the ground to get much softer, so hopefully the rain stays away as he wouldn't handle things as well as Ultimate Getaway. Liam Harrison has won on Ultimate Getaway, so it was obvious to leave him on that horse and have Paddy [Brennan] on Brief Ambition.
Reporting by James Burn

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