'He's got the pedigree and physique to be a proper three-mile chaser' - Jamie Snowden unleashes another smart prospect

Jamie Snowden's purple patch continued apace on Tuesday when he unleashed yet another exciting novice hurdle prospect in Epic West. 

The trainer has a 33 per cent strike-rate in the past fortnight and finished runner-up with Ga Law in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday, while the week before he took the wraps off Grade 1 prospect Wendigo at Ludlow. 

Epic West was positioned prominently by Gavin Sheehan in the 2m1f novice hurdle and took up the running three flights from home before stretching seven and a half lengths clear of Koukeo.

"It was lovely and he's done it very nicely," Snowden said. "He was fairly green and was pricking his ears, so I think it was a pretty good performance. He had a couple of runs in point-to-points in Ireland but that was his first start under rules. 

"He's got the pedigree to be a proper three-mile chaser in time and the physique for that, but to show enough speed to win over two miles was quite nice and hopefully he's got a nice future."

On how Epic West fits into the yard's batch of youngsters, the trainer said: "We've got a lovely, strong team of novice hurdlers and it bodes well for the future. I would have thought we'll be looking towards something like the EBF Final as Complete Unknown, his half-brother, won it a couple of years ago. It would look ideal."

Hot Hayes

Ira Hayes looks another useful prospect as he dominated the 2m4f maiden hurdle for Ben Harvey and John McConnell. The five-year-old has also been declared in the 2m novice hurdle (1.10) at Hexham on Wednesday.

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