Imagine has the Paddy Power Gold Cup on his agenda © Photo Healy Racing
Harry Derham hopes Imagine can justify his large price tag when he makes his debut for the Upper Farm Stables handler in the Paddy Power Gold Cup.
The son of Montmartre was previously trained by Gordon Elliott and changed hands for €320,000 in February, but he has not been seen on track for his new trainer Derham.
Imagine is slated to don the pink and purple silks of owners Barratt Racing for the first time at Cheltenham on November 16, where he is currently second in the market at 7-1 behind Paul Nicholls’ Ginny’s Destiny.
Derham will be hoping to usurp Nicholls, his former boss – and uncle – who he worked for as assistant trainer for six years, and revealed that the two-and-a-half-mile contest has been a long-term date for his charge.
“I’m very happy with him, we are two weeks away from the Paddy Power now,” Derham said. “He’s in good nick. We just need things to keep going right between now and then.
“He’s a very nice horse. All the horses in the yard, whatever they cost, when they get to the yard, it’s irrelevant. You just pay attention to the horse in front of you and he’s an extremely nice horse, we are looking forward to him.
“He’s a Grade Two winner over fences so he doesn’t really need my expectations. He’s a really classy horse, he’s got the right profile for the race as in second-season chasers normally do well in a race like that with graded form.
“A couple from his first novice chase read pretty well form wise. A Cheltenham Festival winner behind him on the day (Inothewayurthinkin) so I’m very hopeful he will run well, but I’m just focused on getting him there in really good shape.”
Derham expects to step up in distance over time, adding: “I think he will end up over three miles.
“I’m in no rush to do that, he’s a young horse. He won’t be a horse that will be wildly busy this season, but the Paddy Power has been an objective for a long time now.
“That will tell us a lot more. It might be that he wants a bit more of a trip. It might be that trip is perfect. As everyone knows, he’s not run for me yet so it’s a case of learning a bit more about him when we get there.”
Another horse catching the eye at Upper Farm is Givemefive after his success in the Masterson Holdings Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The four-year-old, who is owned by major-winning golfers Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka, claimed a length-and-a-quarter triumph from Harriet Dickin’s Dodger Long, with a potential assignment at Newbury on the agenda for the son of Holy Roman Emperor.
“I’m delighted with Givemefive and hopefully that bodes well for this season,” Derham added.
“Handicaps are incredibly tough for a young horse like him, but that was his first big target of the season and I’m glad it paid off.
“I’d like him to end up in a race like the Betfair Hurdle. There are a few ideas that we’ve got between now and then, probably have one more run – we’ve got a couple of races in mind for him.”
