Underrated versus overhyped

No mistake could stop Buveur D’Air who fought off two Cheltenham winners

THE best race of the weekend was, arguably, the Grade One BetVictor Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle. Often the race is what Nicky Henderson described as a “penalty kick” for one good horse, but this time three of last season’s Cheltenham Festival winners met; the two-time champion hurdler Buveur D’Air, the Ballymore winner Samcro and the Supreme winner Summerville Boy.

In the end, it came down to a match between possibly the most underrated horse in training, Buveur D’Air, and the most overhyped Samcro who, since March, had fallen at Punchestown and then been beaten on his reappearance at Down Royal.

However, with one or two of Henderson’s big shots having appeared to need their first races this season, most notably Might Bite at Haydock a week earlier, the race-fit Samcro was sent off favourite and he set out to exploit any chinks in Buveur D’Air’s fitness.

However, Barry Geraghty and Buveur D’Air stalked Samcro every inch of the way before breezing past him going to the last, where not even an uncharacteristic mistake could stop him racing to an eight-length victory.

Henderson admitted that results of late had started to play on his mind and that he was half expecting “another bloody nose”.

“The horses have been fit and winning, but you suddenly start to play some of the big boys in big games and you begin asking yourself if they’re ready,” he explained.

“We only got on the grass on Thursday and that was too late for this horse. We knew they’d make the running and test our fitness — test me — but he was amazing. I don’t know why he walked through the last but he looked better than ever.”

Alluding to the fact that Buveur D’Air appeared to struggle to beat Melon a neck last March, Henderson said: “He wasn’t himself in last season’s Champion Hurdle. He couldn’t go to Aintree because it took him a long time to get over it. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the one horse we had ‘go sick’ on us the Monday before Cheltenham was We Have A Dream, who was in the nextdoor box.”

‘You start to play some of the big boys in big games and you begin asking yourself if they’re ready’

NICKY HENDERSON