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Clarens has Naas option

Clarens, leftClarens, left
© Photo Healy Racing

John Flavin is considering Naas as the next stop for Clarens after an unplaced run in fogbound Leopardstown over Christmas.

The Dream Ahead gelding was successful on his penultimate start in Navan which earned him a shot at a higher grade in Foxrock where a combination of factors ultimately proved unsuitable.

The trainer said: "He seems in good old form.

"I'd say they went no gallop in Leopardstown and then they sprinted whereas he wants an end-to-end gallop.

"Two miles in Navan suits him better with the big long straight. It was just a slightly quicker track (in Leopardstown).

"He travelled well and then he went into the fog (in Leopardstown) and then I didn't see what happened. The jockey (Alex Harvey) just said they went steady and then quickened and quickened again, and he just couldn't go with them.

"He's a hard enough horse to place. There's a couple of meetings in Navan over the next few weeks, but there's actually no two-mile race that he's actually qualified for.

"He's 118 now and he's a small sort of a horse, so 0-120s would be a fair burden for him. He would be better in a 0-130.

"We ran him a few times last year with plenty of weight and he has just always looked like he has struggled a small bit.

"There's a race in Naas over two mile two (furlongs) in a couple of weeks time and that might be the only option for him, so we might have to go there."

Clarens has won four times over hurdles including twice in Navan.

About Michael Graham
Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.