Murray: Valiant Force back to the horse we saw as a two-year-old

Adrian Murray has Valiant Force primed for a trip to Southwell on Saturday, where he will take aim at the BetUK Hever Sprint Stakes.

The four-year-old entered Amo Racing folklore at Royal Ascot as a two-year-old when springing a real shock at odds of 150-1 in the Norfolk Stakes and getting Kia Joorabchian’s racing operation off the mark at the prestigious meeting.

He would go on to finish runner-up to Big Evs later that year at the Breeders’ Cup, but found life tough after a brief stay in America when returned to Murray last summer.

The son of Malibu Moon failed to make his mark in three turf starts, but has since regained his confidence on the all-weather, winning twice, and now heads to the Nottinghamshire track for this Listed event with his tail up.

Connections are keen to get a gauge of where Valiant Force truly lies on the sprinting scene ahead of the Flat turf season commencing next month, but are hopeful he crosses the Irish Sea in rude health.

Murray said: “It’s the plan to come over and the horse is in good form. He came out of the race the last day very well and this race now is to find out where we go with him in the summer.

“It will tell us if we’re going to be able to compete in the big sprints once we get back on turf and it’s a good stepping stone for him. We’ll learn plenty from this one.

“He’s back to the Valiant Force we saw as a two-year-old and it took him a while to come back to himself after being in America. Touch wood he’s back to something like his best and like I’ve said we’re going to learn more this weekend.”

Murray and Amo got on the scoresheet with Elegant Man on All-Weather Championships Finals Day last year and although the Valiant Force team are looking further ahead to the summer, a trip to Newcastle could enter the reckoning for their speedster with a strong performance at Southwell.

“Finals Day could also be on the cards for him and he could either go there or for the Cork Stakes (April 6),” continued Murray.

“Cork may be a non-runner as the ground there at that time of year could be soft and he’s a good ground horse. So coming over to Newcastle could really be on the cards.”