Timeform Weekend Review
‘Its a funny old game’ is usually an expression reserved for football, but after the weekend’s action, Alan King must have thought it applied pretty well to his fortunes not just over the weekend, but probably the whole season.
“Salden Licht travelled well into the race, but was unable to quicken in the straight to finish third behind that rarest of things, a Paul Nicholls-trained Ruby Walsh-ridden 16/1 winner.”
Kempton was meant to be the acid test for two of his promising juvenile hurdlers; however the headlines were made not on the track, but in Triumph Hurdle ante-post favourite Mille Chief’s box. Having been found to be lame, King pulled him from the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle, for which he was a short-priced favourite and also suggested that his festival participation may be in doubt. Some bookmakers have removed Mille Chief from the ante-post market altogether, and in other cases he has been usurped for favouritism by Alaivan. The next few days will be crucial as his progress will be monitored, and a decision on whether he will compete at Cheltenham should come this week.
Salden Licht, a winner of both his previous starts over hurdles, was left as the standard bearer for the King yard in the Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle. Sent off the 11/4 joint-favourite alongside morning gamble Grey Soldier, Salden Licht travelled well into the race, but was unable to quicken in the straight to finish third behind that rarest of things, a Paul Nicholls-trained Ruby Walsh-ridden 16/1 winner. Statistical enthusiasts would probably have to look back to last year’s festival to find the last time that happened. Escort’men produced possibly one of the best performances by a juvenile hurdler this season, as he coasted to an easy fourteen length victory. He holds no entries at Cheltenham, but he looks an exciting prospect for Aintree.
Alan King must have wanted to rewind twelve months when Trenchant sprung a suprise to win the Dovecote, beating a competitive field in the process. Since then he seems to have had his own ideas about racing and things looked to be going wrong when he finished down the field at Sandown earlier in the month. The fitting of first-time blinkers worked the oracle, though, and Trenchant produced a gritty display to land the National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell on Sunday.
The feature race on Saturday was the Racing Post Chase in which Nacarat narrowly missed out on becoming the first horse to win the race two years in a row since Dockland Express in 1992. A mistake four from home may have just knocked the stuffing out of him, and it was Razor Royale who took advantage, and despite a mistake of his own at the last he clung on to land a big success for the Nigel Twiston-Davies yard. With the conditions testing and the gallop a good one, the field finished strung out and the front two came well clear of the rest. Fistral Beach had come in for strong morning support and was sent off favourite, but unshipped Ruby Walsh at the second fence.
Punjabi avoided the fate met by his stablemate Zaynar, when recording a comfortable odds-on success in the opening contest. The race told punters nothing about Punjabi’s form, only the fact that he goes to Cheltenham to defend his crown in good health.
Lingfield in February is perhaps not the first place that observers would look for Dubai World Cup clues, but the Winter Derby Trial on Saturday may have produced a serious contender for the world’s richest race. Gitano Hernando turned in a classy performance to concede weight all round, and he won’t need to improve much more to take a hand at Meydan on March 27th.
Over in Ireland, the Triumph Hurdle market was given a further shake-up as Pittoni was beaten when odds -on favourite in the Johnstown Novice Hurdle at Navan. Nicanor finally registered his first success over fences and he may well have earned a trip to the scene of his finest hour, as he holds an entry for the Jewson. Tranquil Sea boosted his claims for Cheltenham success with a confident display in the Newlands Chase at Leopardstown on Sunday, and he is now challenging for favouritism with Poquelin in the Ryanair Chase market.
