Betfair Hurdle Preview: More Mullins success on the cards
The Cheltenham Festival is looming on the horizon but there are still some valuable prizes to be won on the path to Prestbury Park. At Newbury, the headline act of Betfair Super Saturday is of course the Betfair Hurdle and the valuable handicap has attracted a field of 18 looking to claim the prize and perhaps thrust themselves into Cheltenham contention. Our in-house writer Billy Grimshaw has previewed the race for us here, analysing the main contenders before giving his verdict...
The Betfair Hurdle often attracts a big field and once again it looks set to be a race packed with incident as eighteen have stood their ground for the Newbury showpiece. Over the years high class winners such as Persian War and Make A Stand (who went on to win that season's Champion Hurdle), while Zarkandar, My Tent or Yours and Ballyandy have taken this prize en-route to the Festival and have seen their Cheltenham Odds shorten drastically as a result, although none were successful in the Supreme.
The 2023 edition looks at first glance not to have a contender who will trouble either the Champion Hurdle or Supreme favourites, but it should be an enthralling contest between some decent handicappers nonetheless.2022 winner Glory And Fortune, who sprung a 20/1 surprise in the race 12 months ago, is back to defend his crown although carrying 5lbs more will certainly be vulnerable to younger improvers. He is once again being discounted by oddsmakers and could prove each-way value for punters that way inclined, as could Aucunrisque for Chris Gordon who is back over the smaller obstacles and well weighted after a novice chasing campaign.
JP McManus often targets this race and has recently purchased the long time favourite Filey Bay. Emmet Mullins has enjoyed plundering handicaps off an obviously farcically lenient mark so far in Britain and there looks to still be plenty of juice in his mark for this race so his short price is unsurprising. If there is going to be a horse who obliterates the field it is probably him but in a race as competitive as this at current odds he makes little appeal. Rubaud is another prominent in the betting I am happy to swerve, as despite his promise he looked last time out to be crying out for more of a test of stamina so this race over just two miles could see him finding everything happening too quickly for Nicholls and Cobden. Hacker Des Places for the same trainer makes much more appeal under useful 5lbs claimer Angus Cheleda. His win on Cheltenham Trials Day looks strong form and he was the last one off the shortlist so I could not put anyone off an each-way wager on the improving six year old.
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No Ordinary Joe has always been highly regarded by Nicky Henderson and two seasons ago looked inexperienced in some good but not great runs. He was then off the track for over a year but won well on reappearance at Kempton and looked to be more ready for the job. He has form on good ground and if settling should be a player here. Teddy Blue is another with a fine chance for the Moore team and he has always looked the type to relish a strongly run two mile test, which this promises to be. He is well weighted and this could've been the plan for some time for a shrewd stable so keep an eye on the market regarding his chances.
The pace will almost certainly come from Highway One or Two, who is dangerous when given an easy lead. He is a big price on his best form but disappointed in this race last year and off 143 would have to put in a monumental performance to contend. Tritonic was very highly regarded for Alan King at one stage and certainly has the speed for this type of race, but is an inconsistent sort hence his place as one of the outsiders for the race. The outsider of the whole field Glorious Zoff could be a useful recruit to hurdling for Fergal O'Brien but is best kept to a watching brief in this race.
It is clear there are plenty in here who could take the Betfair Hurdle depending on how the race pans out, however the one I am going to side with is another JP runner in ICARE ALLEN. Willie Mullins has minded this one carefully and he showed plenty of promise last season as a juvenile, but it was in his seasonal reappearance and handicap debut that he showed the quality making him the selection for this race. Eventually finishing third at Fairyhouse, the suspicion is he was the best horse in the race on the day. He was given a sympathetic ride to my eye by Paul Townend and in the aftermath of the race he looked the perfect type the owner and trainer would put away for a more valuable prize after experiencing the hustle and bustle of a big field handicap.
That day could well be Saturday at Newbury and at the current prices he rates a confident each-way play against the favourite in the same colours. I would expect him to be strong in the market in the lead up and on the day, almost certainly closing the odds gap with Filey Bay, so getting on early could be the way to play this race and hopefully he can display the expected improvement from his last outing at Fairyhouse to be involved in the finish.
