French Ship to dock at Kempton if meeting survives

Johnson White is keeping his fingers crossed Kempton can defy the big freeze currently curtailing jumps action in Britain to allow French Ship to set sail in the Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle on Saturday.

The in-form six-year-old has cruised to a pair of taking victories since falling at Chepstow on his opening outing this term and although burdened with top weight in what is typically an ultra-competitive affair, his connections believe another strong showing could unlock outings at a higher grade in the spring.

“He’s in great form and his weight is spot on,” said White, who trains French Ship alongside Philip Hobbs.

“He’s carrying a lot of weight but that’s because he’s the best horse in the race, simple as that.

“If Saturday went well he would be moving out of handicap company and if you look at his profile he has just improved race on race throughout his career.”

As well as his two victories this term, French Ship displayed plenty of promise during his novice hurdling campaign last season, meaning this fruitful voyage through the ranks has been no shock to his training team.

White added: “We hope he can continue on that upwards curve. I wouldn’t say it’s come as a surprise as he is a horse that is very straightforward and just gets on and does his thing, there’s nothing flash about him.

“With his profile from last season we very much hoped he would continue improving and he has very much done that so long may it continue.”