KALASHNIKOV READY TO FIRE
NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3 1 KALASHNIKOV 2 GETABIRD 3 SLATE HOUSE
KALASHNIKOV (nb) has the ammunition to deal Getabird. with favourite
Saddled by Britain’s youngest trainer, 25-yearold Amy Murphy, the son of Kalanisi impressed with hurdles scores at Wetherby and Doncaster in the first half of the winter
Murphy (below) then aimed Kalashnikov at the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle, and Jack Quinlan’s mount ran a creditable second to
Summerville Boy.
But Murphy claimed her fiveyear-old had learned plenty from that, and that view was borne out when Kalashnikov progressed past a mark of 141 for a four-and-a-half-length margin in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury last time out. That performance proved my selection’s ability to handle soft ground, and Kalashnikov can gain his revenge on Summerville Boy to give Murphy the biggest win of her flourishing career. The unbeaten Getabird, representing five-time victors Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh, will justifiably be popular, while it wouldn’t be the biggest Slate House surprise to see reach the podium.