Curtis harbours Welsh National dreams with Pats Fancy

Rebecca Curtis still holds out hope she will have two runners in the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow over Christmas.

The Newport-based trainer has both Pats Fancy and Wayfinder in the race, but will need plenty to come out if the latter is to take his chance in the big staying handicap chase on December 27.

Pats Fancy won two novice chases at Chepstow last winter before chasing home the smart Bravemansgame at Newbury in February.

Things did not go according to plan when next seen in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, when finishing a distant fifth of six to Stattler.

Despite a low-key return in a conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle over almost three miles at Chepstow earlier this month, Curtis says Pats Fancy is still on course for the Welsh National, for which he is a 10-1 chance with the sponsors.

“I knew he’d need that run,” said Curtis.

“He was quite late coming in this year after Cheltenham and got slightly jarred up.

“That was purely just to give him a good blow on grass. He was carrying a lot of weight and he’s come on loads since.

“So, we are getting him ready for the Welsh National now.

“He’s in good form and I wouldn’t take any notice of his hurdles run. It was purely just to get him out.”

Wayfinder would be no second-string should he line up in the extended three and three-quarter-mile event, which will be run this year in memory of Kim Gingell, daughter of retired Somerset trainer Colin Tizzard, who tragically died in 2020 from cancer.

The eight-year-old has run six times at his local track, winning four and finishing runner-up on another occasion, and is currently a 16-1 chance with the sponsors.

Though pulled-up as favourite in the Welsh Nation Trial, a race won by Farinet, Curtis hopes there will be enough defections for Wayfinder to sneak in at the bottom of the handicap.

She added: “I’d love to run Wayfinder in it. I would just put a line through his last run. I think we need about 20 to come out of the race – it isn’t unheard of.

“You can get a lot of entries and not all of them declare, so we will train him for the race and see what happens.

“There are other options for him. There’s the Mandarin Chase at Newbury, we didn’t look much further than that, though. We’ll see.”