'Three-grand foal' French Ship another potential star for Cheltenham Festival-winning owners

Wayne Clifford and Ian Gosden are no strangers to unearthing a gem and bargain buy French Ship may be their newest star after justifying 11-10 favouritism in the 2m3½f maiden hurdle.

The Philip Hobbs and Johnson White-trained four-year-old was second on his hurdling debut at the track’s Persian War meeting last month but went one better this time under Micheal Nolan.

Clifford’s Paddy Power Gold Cup and Cheltenham Festival winner Coole Cody was bought for £5,200, but Nolan was wearing the silks of co-owner Gosden, whose Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle winner Golden Ace was also only purchased for 12,000gns.

“He’s nice, another one of our massive purchases – three grand as a foal,” Gosden told Sky Sports Racing.

French Ship is by Marine Nationale’s sire French Navy and Clifford said: “He was going to go to a foal sale but I think he was slightly injured at the time so I just bought him. I like the sire and we actually forgot about him, he was in the field for two and a half years.” 

Dan Skelton’s Let It Rain lost her unbeaten record when chasing home French Ship on her first start since winning at Ascot last December, but her stablemate and fellow Listed bumper winner Royal Infantry made a successful hurdling debut in the first division of the 2m maiden hurdle.

The second division went to Jurancon, who made it two from two at the track for David Pipe.

Sheehan strikes 

Oliver Signy’s first Cheltenham winner came courtesy of the Gavin Sheehan-ridden Block Rockin Beats in a bumper last month and that combination struck in the same sphere when It’s Top made a successful rules debut.

Success in the finale completed a 229-1 double for Sheehan, who had steered Debra Hamer’s Hedera Park to success in the preceding 2m3½f handicap hurdle.

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