Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle |
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Grade 2, Cheltenham 15:15 £70,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 5f, Class 1 |
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1 Lucky Place 3/1
2
Gowel Road 7/1
3 Golden Ace
5/2F
6 ran NR: Twig Distances: ¾l, 4l, 14l
Time: 5m 16.92s (slow by 26.92s)
Lucky Place this is your lucky place! @NdeBoinville & @sevenbarrows make it a double as they take the Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle pic.twitter.com/DBosktygAX
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) January 1, 2025
Lucky Place announced himself as a strong contender for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival with a battling victory over the admirable Gowel Road.
Ridden by Nico de Boinville, Lucky Place faced off against Jeremy Scott’s Cheltenham Festival winner Golden Ace, who was sent off as the 5-2 favourite for this New Year’s Day feature. The progressive performer from Nicky Henderson’s stable had previously made a winning return in the Ascot Hurdle and was again taking on Golden Ace.
Lucky Place kept tabs on the forward-going Gowel Road, ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, as they approached the final stretch. Meanwhile, Golden Ace and Gary and Josh Moore’s Salver moved stylishly into contention heading downhill for the final time.
However, the race took a dramatic turn as Salver took a crashing fall at the last hurdle, and Golden Ace’s stamina began to waver. It was left to Lucky Place to hold off the rallying Gowel Road, who refused to lie down and made the young Seven Barrows pretender answer every call.
Lucky Place returned a winning verdict of three-quarters of a length at odds of 3-1. Following the race, Henderson suggested that Lucky Place could head straight to the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March, for which Coral went 16-1 from 20-1.
Henderson praised the horse, saying, “He’s just the most likeable young horse you could wish to have. He was meant to go novice chasing and he jumps very well, but I just couldn’t find the opportunities to go chasing and I don’t mind saying that because he should have been chasing.”
Henderson continued, “We think he’s a three-miler, he’s progressive and I might say he is better to keep growing than throw another race at him. The only point in running in the Cleeve is to prove he stays and why don’t we ask that in March rather than the end of January.”
Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle (Grade 2)
£70,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 5f, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Soft
POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 Lucky Place 6 11-6 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 3/1
2 ¾ Gowel Road 9 11-0 Nigel Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies 7/1
3 4 Golden Ace 7 10-10 Jeremy Scott Lorcan Williams 5/2F
4 14 Thunder Rock 9 11-0 Olly Murphy Sean Bowen 22/1
5 9½ Langer Dan 9 11-4 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 5/1
FELL Salver 5 11-3 Gary & Josh Moore Caoilin Quinn 100/30
NR 6 Twig 10 11-0 Ben Pauling NON RUNNER