Reporter: Andy Gibson
It was fascinating to see Harry Skelton give the winner plenty to do even jumping the last. He mentioned post-race that he would not have been too disappointed if he had got Maestro Conti beaten by such a tactic but needed to do what was right for the horse in the long term. As a consequence, I believe he had a little more in hand than his winning margin would suggest. Harry Skelton went on to state he thought the ground was soft and on its way to heavy which is also interesting as the times and post-race comments of most jockeys suggest the ground was no worse than good to soft.
He benefitted from enjoying plenty of space between the outside rail and the leader from after the final hurdle. Maybe he would have switched inside and got to the front in time anyway, I am not sure. Either way, he appears to be at the head or at least close to the top of the British-trained contenders for the Triumph Hurdle at this point in time. The balance of power between the Irish and British juveniles is another matter altogether.
He was kicked into a clear lead approaching the final hurdle before his jockey failed to close the gap on the outside rail thus allowing the winner the room to come through late. I think he has been advantaged by his extra experience in his latest three races, and this factor may gradually find him out in the short term.
I think there is an element of bubble bursting going on with his third-place finish. Perhaps his performance also casts some doubt on the relative qualities of Act Of Innocence whom he narrowly beat last time out at Newbury. He travelled well throughout and appeared to enjoy a positive trip round which adds to the chances of this being as good as he is.
It is more than possible that he was slightly inconvenienced by racing to the inside of where the action was taking place from on the approach to the final hurdle to the winning post. It is also possible that he will turn out to be the stable’s Halgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle horse rather than or alongside Winston Junior. He needs another run to qualify for the juvenile handicap so if he is brought back to compete again in February it could be very telling.
She managed to make up two lengths on One Horse Town from the last to the winning post despite not being hard driven to do so. She put up an eye catching performance here and, along with the fourth horse to finish, she will need another run under her belt to qualify for the Halgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.
