Donald McCain expects to see further improvement from Navajo Pass when stepped back up in trip in the Betway Aintree Hurdle, after conceding he is “not a genuine two miler”.
The five year old will revert to two and a half miles at the Merseyside track on April 8th, in what will be his first Grade One start since finishing fourth in last season’s JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Navajo Pass defeated dual Champion Hurdle hero Buveur D’Air in the The New One Unibet Hurdle at Haydock Park over an extended 1m 7f in January, but failed to follow it up over the same trip when finishing only third in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton a month later.
McCain said: “He was okay after Wincanton. He struggled to hold his position on the ground turning out of the back straight and into the home straight. The winner (Goshen) was very impressive but that is the softest ground he has run on.
“All that result proved is what we thought in that we’ve not got a genuine two miler and he is not a Champion Hurdle horse, but he had to go to Wincanton as there was nowhere else to go.
“He definitely wants to go further and hopefully that will help him resume his improvement, so it is all systems go for the Aintree Hurdle.”
