News Story

Jonjo O’Neill feels there will be another big prize around the corner for Wilful after he narrowly failed to carry top-weight to victory at Windsor on Friday.

An all-the-way winner of a valuable event at Ascot before Christmas, he gave a bold bid in search of further riches in the £110,000 Fitzdares Sovereign Handicap Hurdle, only succumbing to eventual winner Hot Fuss after the last, with weight the ultimate tell at the business end.

The seven-year-old holds an entry for the Champion Hurdle and while O’Neill acknowledges that could be a step too far, he does think there could be more to come in the handicap ranks.

“He ran a cracker giving a nice bit of weight away and you could say he is improving away,” said O’Neill, who trains Wilful alongside son AJ at Jackdaws Castle.

“You always say you are unlucky when you get beat, but he was beaten fair and square and I would say it was probably just the weight that told for him.

“I don’t think he’s good enough for the Champion Hurdle, even if it would be nice to think that, but there will be a nice race in him and we’ll just keep going with the handicaps for the moment.”