Anibale gives Martin grounds for optimism

The Tony Martin trained Anibale Fly returned to form with a Grade 3 win at Naas today, landing the Woodlands Park 100 Club Novice Chase and completing a double on the day for owner J.P. McManus and jockey Mark Walsh.

The son of Assessor pulled up on his previous outing on St Stephen’s Day at Kempton but bounced back today with a battling three parts of a length win over A Genie In Abottle

Martin later stated “I was adamant in Kempton that it was just the ground - it was one of those things and I had never seen ground as good at that time of the year. There was nothing wrong with him but today proves it was the ground as he was beaten after three or four fences. Last week (at Leopardstown) it also seemed too good again to take a chance.

“He always showed he was a decent horse and it was no bad race today. I wouldn’t be too worried about ground as long as it was as yielding as today.”

By Tom Weekes