Rock On Ruby all set for Kempton showdown with The New One

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Harry Fry says his former Champion Hurdler Rock On Ruby is all set to meet The New One at Kempton on Sunday.

In his first blog of the new jumps season for StanJames.com, Fry said, “Rock On Ruby did his last bit of fast work this morning before his run on Sunday and it went very much according to plan. We schooled outside on the grass yesterday and he was good and quick and sharp and fast so it’s all very much systems go for Sunday. We’re treating it as a stepping stone for bigger targets in November and December, namely the Ascot Hurdle and the StanJames.com International.

“He did very well over the summer. He had a good break after Punchestown. All the horses summered well and did a lot better than last summer. He’s another year older and slightly wiser – he only does as much as he has to do at home – and so this is why we were keen to get a run into him early and get him 110 percent. He’s workmanlike at home but when he gets to the racecourse, that’s when he comes alive.”

Fry said his stable star would “definitely come on for the run” and admitted it wasn’t the plan to face an opponent as strong as The New One at this stage.

He said, “We were hoping to get him out early in a race like this and sneak one in but the two-mile division this year is as competitive as ever. We’re coming face to face with arguably one of the most exciting novices from last season in the Champion Hurdle picture. He’s followed a very similar route to Rock On Ruby having won bumpers and obviously we were just touched off in the Neptune and he was able to win that race very impressively. The Neptune for me is as good a pointer to a Champion Hurdle horse as anything else. So it’s going to be a very interesting race.”

Fry and Rock On Ruby’s owners, the Festival Goers, decided to keep him over hurdles rather than embark on a mooted novice-chasing campaign this season.

Fry said, “The individual persuaded us to stay over hurdles. He’s not the biggest and you wouldn’t look at him and think, ‘There’s a big strapping chaser’. We’re very lucky to have such a good hurdler and we decided we’d stick to what he’s very good at. He arguably sets the standard this side of Irish Sea and we thought he could still be very competitive in those big two-mile races. What we want to do is step him up in trip on his next start to give us food for thought for longer-term targets. We’ll take it one race at a time and at this stage we’re still definitely thinking the StanJames Champion Hurdle come March. We could then step up in trip at Aintree as we know he stays further from his younger days.”

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