Betfair Price Rush Hurdle
Haydock Park 13:50 £100,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 45y, Class 2
Saturday 19th November 2016

1 Ch'Tibello 5/1
2 Melodic Rendezvous 10/1
3 My Tent Or Yours 10/11F
4 ran Distances: 2¼l, 2l, 2¼l
TIME 4m 11.00s (slow by 23.00s)

Ch'Tibello wins the Betfair Price Rush Hurdle under Harry Skelton

Ch'tibello
© Racehorse Photos

The four-strong field crawled along in the testing conditions in the early stages with Richard Johnson content to set slow fractions aboard outsider-of-the-field Melodic Rendezvous.

Noel Fehily looked to have his rivals just where he wanted them aboard dual Champion Hurdle runner-up My Tent Or Yours as the field turned for home.

But just as Melodic Rendezvous made a sloppy leap three out, the odds-on favourite was unable to respond when Harry Skelton suddenly seized the initiative aboard the 5/1 winner.

As Ch'tibello kept up the gallop all the way to the winning post, it was Melodic Rendezvous who ended up rallying for second place, two and a quarter lengths adrift of the winner with My Tent Or Yours one-paced in third.

The winning rider said: "They didn't go very quick and then sprinted, and that's one thing he is good at, he has a good turn of foot. He's a very fast horse."

The winning trainer said: "This race has a habit of cutting up. We said at the start of the week we'd leave him in.

"It turned into a four-furlong dash and he was in the right place at the right time. Harry gave him a great ride and we just capitalised today.

"Sometimes fortune favours the brave and you've got to leave all doors open at all times."

He went on: "This horse might just be Champion Hurdle class.

"Physically, he's improved since Ascot and his work has got better. Maybe, and only maybe, he could be a Champion Hurdle horse. We're going to the Christmas Hurdle and have a look.

"At the end of the day he's won over £61,000 today, so he can't have a bad year whatever happens!

"He's going to go up in the weights now, so we'll go to Kempton and then we might have a go at something like the Irish Champion Hurdle - which will be similar ground to today and maybe they don't go as fast.

"I'm a little bit shocked at the moment. I didn't expect to win."

Fehily felt the race had not been run to suit My Tent Or Yours.

He said: "He's always been a better horse on better ground and he probably wanted a more true-run race.

"He jumped well and travelled well but wasn't good enough on the day."

Betfair Price Rush Hurdle
£100,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 45y, Class 2
4 ran
Going: Heavy