Champion Hurdle Trial at Doncaster

Today´s N.H. meetings at Ayr and Southwell have long since been abandoned, but Doncaster has ridden to the rescue with an additional card featuring the listed 32red Hurdle at 16.00 CET. This has only 4 runners but still looks an excellent trial for the Champion Hurdle, woth 3 serious challengers engaged. The fourth runner Clerks Choice won 4 successive races over hurdles in 2010 but has been struggling since.

He used to make the running and that is the hope today, as these small fields often result in a false-run race. The other 3 all have strong festival form to their credit - Countrywide Flame (John Quinn/ Denis O´Regan) won the Triumph Hurdle last year, Darlan (Nicky Henderson/ Tony McCoy) wsa runner-up in the Supreme Novices and more recently won Kempton´s Christmas Hurdle, while Rock on Ruby (Harry Fry/ Noel Fehily) is the reigning champion. He was a well-beaten third at Kempton behind Darlan, but on this much better ground he must have a good chance of reversing the placings. This is not really a race to bet on, but essential viewing with Cheltenham getting ever closer.

The card opens with two highly interesting hurdles races with some major prospects entered. The mares novice hurdle at 14.20 sees the British debut of the smart ex-French chaser Utopie des Bordes (Henderson/ Barry Geraghty). She won 4 chases in France, culminating in a Grade One victory at Auteuil from the smart Fago, but never won over sticks, so is qualified to run here. In theory she has to win this, but she has to prove that she can handle the British hurdles and faces some strong oppositon, including Terre du Vent (Tom George/ Paddy Brennan), a listed winner on the flat on France, Call me a Star (Alan King/ Robert Thornton), a good bumper who has already scored over hurdles but is penalised here, and debutant Cracking Lass (Richard Fahey/ Brian Hughes), also pretty useful on the flat.

The maiden hurdle half an hour later also has some good flat horses in the line-up, although Henderson and Geraghty are represented by the jumps-bred Minella Forfitness. German-bred Zuider Zee, making his N.H. debut for John Ferguson and O´Regan, and Aaim to Prosper (Paul Nicholls/ Daryl Jacob) were both top handicappers, with the latter winning the Cesarewitch under top weight, while Life and Soul (Donald McCain/ Jason Maguire) was also pretty useful for Amanda Perrett. One of this quartet will probably win, but we wouldn´t like to say which. Another German-bred with a chance is Pindar (Neil Mulholland/ Dougie Costello) in the handicap hurdle at 17.05; previously very inconsistent for Barney Curley, he ran much better on his first start for his new trainer last month and today´s opposition is numerically strong but very weak on form.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Utopie Des Bordes - Call Me A Star - Cracking Lass
2. Race: Aaim To Prosper - Zuider Zee - Minella Forfitness
3. Race: Ruben Cotter - Vintage Star - Alpha Victor
4. Race: Rock On Ruby - Darlan - Countrywide Flame
5. Race: Ali Baba - Chosen Dream - Giveitachance
6. Race: Mujamead - Quapriland - Pindar
7. Race: Mississippi Blues - Furius - Overdante