32Red Lanzarote Hurdle |
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| Grade 1, Kempton Park 14:40 £45,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 5f, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 13th January 2018 | |
1 William Henry 7/1
2
Spiritofthegames 16/1
3
Red Indian 8/1
4
Topofthegame 11/1
16 ran Distances: ¾l, 2l, shd
Time: 5m 11.80s (slow by 16.80s)
A big wedding day winner for trainer Nicky Henderson
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After failing to take to fences on his last start, William Henry left that effort behind when landing the Listed contest by three-quarters of a length to give 16-year-old jockey James Bowen a second big Saturday winner a week on from steering Raz De Maree to glory in the Welsh National.
There were still several horses in with a chance jumping the second-last hurdle, but approaching the final obstacle it was between 7-1 shot William Henry, Red Indian and Spiritofthegames.
William Henry produced a big leap when he needed one to to take a slender advantage and found plenty for pressure on the run to the line to score by three-quarters of a length.
Spiritofthegames was a clear second, while Red Indian just held the fast-finishing Topofthegame for third.
Bowen said: "I can't thank Mr Henderson enough for giving me the opportunity to ride him. I thought he had a very good chance and he has gone and done it.
"I've done plenty of schooling with him since his last run over fences. I think he might have just scared himself a bit that day.
"He jumped really well today and there is no reason why he can't go over fences again."
He added: "I can't believe things are going as well as they are, it's incredible. Hopefully it will keep going."
Trainer Nicky Henderson was not present as he was marrying his partner Sophie in Scotland.
Toby Lawes, Henderson's assistant at Seven Barrows, said: "I've not heard from Nicky since this morning. He should be all married and done and he is probably just having a good party now!"
Of William Henry, he added: "He was fantastic. Last time at Cheltenham it really just knocked his confidence. From the start it was not going right and we made the switch back to hurdles.
"He showed so much ability over hurdles last year. He came into this off a mark of 145 and James Bowen is a brilliant conditional jockey taking 5lb off his back, which is invaluable. He rode him beautifully and had him in a fantastic position exactly as instructed - bang on the rail and just sneaked his way through.
"James got off him and said he jumped so straight and with such confidence you wouldn't put off having another chance over fences, but I don't know when that would be.
"Firstly we will just have to assess what they do with the handicap mark and have a little think."
32 Red Lanzarote Hurdle (Listed Handicap)
£45,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 5f, Class 1
16 ran
Going: Soft, Good to Soft in places
| Pos | Dist | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | William Henry (IRE) 7/1 | James Bowen (5) 11-12 |
N J Henderson | 8 | |
| 2nd | ¾ | Spiritofthegames (IRE) 16/1 | Bridget Andrews (3) 11-1 |
D Skelton | 6 |
| 3rd | 2 | Red Indian 8/1 | David Bass 11-1 |
B Pauling | 6 |
| 4th | s.h | Topofthegame (IRE) 11/1 | Sam Twiston-Davies 11-6 |
P F Nicholls | 6 |
| 5th | 1 | Diese Des Bieffes (FR) 5/1f | Mitchell Bastyan (5) 11-2 |
N J Henderson | 5 |
| 6th | 4½ | Coeur Blimey (IRE) 8/1 | Lucy Gardner (3) 10-13 |
Mrs S Gardner | 7 |
| 7th | 1½ | Le Patriote (FR) 10/1 | B Hughes 10-8 |
Dr R D P Newland | 6 |
| 8th | 2¼ | Dentley De Mee (FR) 25/1 | Lizzie Kelly (3) 10-6 |
Nick Williams | 5 |
| 9th | 4 | Man From Mars 25/1 | Harry Cobden 10-3 |
Nick Williams | 6 |
| 10th | 2 | Bags Groove (IRE) 10/1 | N D Fehily 11-12 |
H Fry | 7 |
| 11th | 1 | Wishfull Dreaming 14/1 | Aidan Coleman 10-8 |
Olly Murphy | 7 |
| 12th | 1¼ | Dino Velvet (FR) 16/1 | Wayne Hutchinson 10-4 |
A King | 5 |
| 13th | 47 | El Terremoto (FR) 66/1 | D A Jacob 11-9 |
N A Twiston-Davies | 6 |
| PU | River Frost 8/1 | B J Geraghty 11-12 |
A King | 6 | |
| PU | Top Ville Ben (IRE) 16/1 | A Nicol 11-9 |
P A Kirby | 6 | |
| PU | I Shot The Sheriff (IRE) 33/1 | P J Brennan 11-4 |
F O'Brien | 11 |
