'He'll be a lovely three-mile chaser' - Andy Amo continues Rebecca Curtis' fine season

Andy Amo capped off a brilliant first half of the season for Rebecca Curtis with victory in the 2m7½f maiden hurdle.

The five-year-old held off Pike Road in the closing stages under Ben Jones to give the Pembrokeshire trainer a 12th winner of the season. That is more than the tally Curtis achieved in the last two campaigns, with her strike-rate up from nine to 21 per cent.

Andy Amo had shown promise in bumpers and two maiden hurdles but relished the step up in trip for a yard renowned for its staying types.

Curtis said: "He'll be a lovely three-mile chaser next season. We wanted to step him up in trip and he's stayed well.

"We'll stick to hurdles this season, maybe give him a couple of runs and then put him away. It'd be nice if he could win a novice under a penalty and then we could think about something better."

Haiti Couleurs provided Curtis' highlight this season when giving the trainer a first winner at Cheltenham since Lisnagar Oscar's 50-1 Stayers' Hurdle shock in March 2020. Curtis returns to the track with three live chances on New Year's Day, headed by Idefix De Ciergues in the 3m handicap hurdle.

"I'm delighted with how the season has gone so far," she added. "We'll have a few nice chances at Cheltenham. Idefix De Ciergues will like the track and gets in off a nice low weight. Newton Tornado is one we like and we could step him up in trip after this."

One to watch

A Path To Ronda is related to Simonsig and Dusart and showed a fair level of ability to win the closing bumper impressively for Jamie Snowden and James Davies.

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