Reporter: Andy Gibson
This may go down as an incredibly fascinating renewal of the Fighting Fifth, however, in terms of the actual outcome, I doubt very much it will be remembered as a vintage one. The only three finishers all completed the race within a length and three quarters of each other leaving this form a long way below what would be required to win an average Champion Hurdle.
She has now won a Champion Hurdle and a Fighting Fifth and she was certainly flattered by the former and possibly the same again here. On the plus side she showed battling qualities to get the better of her only two rivals from the second last hurdle to the line. The two horses to finish just behind her were rated 157 and 152 which would leave her with plenty to find to retain her crown in March.
Prior to the race the hype surrounding him had far outweighed anything he had actually achieved on the race course. Unfortunately his bubble was well and truly burst here on two fronts. Firstly due to being beaten by a 152 rated mare who was extremely fortunate to win the 2025 Champion Hurdle. Secondly because he was all out to only just get the better of the exposed 151 rated Nemean Lion who he was meeting on level terms.
The trip was sharper than ideal and the ground quicker than his optimum conditions. Consequently, one could easily argue that this was a career best effort in the circumstances.
Whatever any one says between now and any future potential run over hurdles, he will simply always have this sort of mistake in him. Hopefully, he will be retired from his hurdles career before beginning a new career on the flat.
Aside from appearing to consider running out at the fourth hurdle, he jumped with fluency until coming down at the second last hurdle. His trainer stated post-race that he thought he would have won and this could well be the case. However, even if he had managed to keep his head in front until the winning post, it would very likely have been a close run finish. If we judged his Champion Hurdle claims on this one performance, his current place as the second favourite for March could be viewed as being due to the lack of credible challengers rather than through anything he appeared likely to achieve if standing up here. Obviously, we may feel differently if taking on board his excellent record as a novice last season.
