The form of the Welsh Champion Hurdle is now looking very strong after the wide-margin victory of Alexei here. His best form has all been earned when competing on good ground which adds plenty of substance to the notion that the Cheltenham ground on Sunday was much faster than advertised. The proximity of the good ground horse, Helnwein, in second place adds further evidence to support this supposition.
His six-length success will likely result in a significant rise in his handicap rating when he is reassessed on Tuesday 25th November. I would guess the Tizzard’s will be looking at a new mark in the mid-140’s after this impressive looking victory. He appears to be improving rapidly, and he is likely to be very strong again in the market the next time we see him. The official soft ground may be a misleading piece of information on another day.
Given his comprehensive defeat by the easy winner he is unlikely to be raised more than two or three pounds after this second-place finish. The fact that he beat the rest so easily makes him very interesting in the short term. As with the winner, I would not use the official going description of soft as a reliable guide for another day.
He is clearly suited to the undulations of this course as his last three performances here have resulted in a victory in the 2023 County Hurdle on the new course, a fine sixth place finish in the 2024 renewal of that same race and this excellent third place finish in a hotly contested Greatwood Hurdle on the old course.
Although he has finished well behind the front two horses this was still a strong performance on his first attempt at this course. He is an exposed handicapper and one that may be better again on a softer surface.
Apparently he had been away for two racecourse gallops, and so he was thought to be fit enough to do himself justice. He ran to a similar level in the 2024 renewal of this race and followed up by winning the Ladbrokes Premier Handicap Hurdle at Ascot’s Xmas meeting. One would assume the plan will be the same again this time around.
He can be marked up as having done the best of those horses to be held up right out the back. He made good late headway from after the third last hurdle before his progress petered out after the final hurdle.
His profile strongly suggests he will appreciate softer ground and a stiffer test of stamina. This was a very encouraging performance, therefore, as he made up a lot of late ground to finish on the tail of the sixth horse whilst finishing a long way clear of the rest.
He was very keen on this seasonal debut run and, as a result, he dropped right out of contention well before the final hurdle. Hopefully, he will be less buzzy the next time we see him with this experience under his belt.
The Nicky Henderson horses still seem to be in need of a run, and this ground would have been quicker than ideal. Two strong reasons to forgive this apparently disappointing performance.
He ran a lot better than his 12th place finish would suggest. He was on the tails of the leading group until dropping away quickly from two out. He is another to finish down the field that would prefer softer conditions.
I am happy to draw a line through this performance as he tends to come on a lot for his seasonal debut run.
