THOM HARDY
Henderson’s tough guy up for the fight in Long Walk thriller
THOMAS CAMPBELL is fancied to floor favourite U no what i mean harry in the Reve De Sivola Long Walk Hurdle (2.25, ITV4) at Ascot.
Three-time winner Reve De Sivola, in whose honour the race is being run for the first time today, was a real scrapper.
And Thomas Campbell looks a similar type. Since stepping up to three miles this season, Nicky Henderson’s youngster has won both his fights by a knockout.
He strolled to victory at Cheltenham’s Showcase fixture in October, following up in impressive style at the November meeting. Both those successes came in handicap company, and Thomas Campbell gets in the ring with the big boys today–notably U now ha time an harry, a three-time Grade 1 winner who beat Lil Rockerfeller in this event last year. But Henderson (left) hasn’t built his career by tilting at windmills. So the fact the Seven Barrows maestro is happy to take on the best staying hurdlers – with a horse who has plenty more to offer – speaks for itself.
ALTHOUGH Ascot’s big pre-Christmas handicap is only in its second year as the Racing Welfare Hurdle (3.35), the contest has history dating back to 2001 as ‘the Ladbroke’.
Therefore, it’s rich in statistics — the most relevant to finding our likely hero being:
Aged four to six with a run this season.
Between one and three victories over hurdles from a maximum of eight attempts.
Finished in the first three last time out.
Previously contested a handicap.
The 17-runner field is now reduced to three qualifiers — Charli Parcs, Verdana Blue and Silver Streak.
The first two are trained by Nicky Henderson, who has won three of the last eight runnings. However, Charli
Parcs needs to post a decent performance to lose the tag of the horse who forced Barry Geraghty to miss Cheltenham Festival this year through injury.
He could do that one day but makes no appeal at the prices.
Verdana Blue is in cracking form but looked one paced at this track two starts ago, so the preference is for Evan Williams’s SILVER STREAK.
Lines of form leave the four-year-old with plenty to find today, but he has room for bags of improvement and a real turn of foot.
Have 4pts win at 6-1 with Ladbrokes.