CALL ME LORD IS WORTH THE WEIGHT AT SANDOWN
Side with CALL ME LORD (Sandown, nb, 2.25) to defy history and land today’s Matchbook imperial Cup.
Just one horse since the inception of this afternoon’s prestigious event in 1947 has carried more weight to victory than Nicky Henderson’s fiveyear-old will carry today. That was 1973 winner Lanzarote, who landed the following year’s Champion Hurdle.
This suggests that Call Me Lord faces too great a task and that Henderson’s other representative, W hats wrong with you, is a more obvious choice from lower down the handicap following his impressive Newbury success in a race which has already delivered subsequent winners.
However, Call Me Lord is unbeaten in two starts at Sandown and there were mitigating circumstances for his defeat in an unevenly run renewal of the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton last time. The presence of trailblazer Cliffs Of dover, a winner on the level at Lingfield since, blew the race wide open from an early stage, leaving Call Me Lord as the hound to chase the free-going hare who swiftly established a gigantic lead from the off.
Putting Henderson’s French recruit into the heat of battle at an early stage didn’t suit the selection given he had previously established himself as a very useful hurdler with a high cruising speed better suited to arriving late on the scene to deliver his challenge.
There is also a school of thought that Call Me Lord also raced on the worst ground at Wincanton with the winner elgin, a live outsider for next week’s Champion Hurdle, steered towards the near- side rail to find fresher ground. While defeat in the West Country ended Call Me Lord’s faint Champion Hurdle aspirations, today’s race looks a viable next step for the classy hurdler and Henderson would surely take huge pleasure from retracing the steps of the 1973 Festival hero trained by his mentor, the great Fred Winter, with whom he was assistant when Lanzarote was in his pomp. The nap vote goes the way of
MELROSE BOY (Sandown, nap, 1.50) who should give his supporters a decent run for their money if he can reproduce his last performance at the esher venue. The stiff three miles on horrible ground proved to be beyond him that day and today’s test should be much more suitable.