Ladbokes Christmas Hurdle |
||
| Grade 1, Kempton Park 14:25 £105,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m, Class 1  |
||
|
||
1 Epatante 4/5
2 Glory And Fortune 28/1
3 Soaring Glory 7/2
5 ran Distances: 2¼l, nk, 9l
Time: 4m 1.00s (slow by 20.00s)
Epatante wins her second Grade 1 @Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle and in some style under @NdeBoinville, following up from her success in 2019 to hand trainer @sevenbarrows a record tenth victory in the race 🏆🚀 pic.twitter.com/xmFvMbbsYk
— Kempton Park Racecourse (@kemptonparkrace) December 26, 2021
Nicky Henderson’s Epatante landed the prize in 2019 before going on to Champion Hurdle glory the following spring, but she suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Silver Streak last term and could finish only third at Cheltenham in March.
The mare underwent back surgery over the summer and having dead-heated with the reopposing Not So Sleepy in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle last month, she made sure of outright victory here under Nico de Boinville.
Epatante stepped up to challenge Not So Sleepy with three to jump and the result hardly looked in doubt from that point onwards.
She just had to gallop out to the line, prevailing by two and a quarter lengths from staying-on 28-1 shot Glory And Fortune.
Henderson was delighted to see Epatante back on form.
He said: “She is quick and all about speed. We expected to get a lead a lot longer than we did, but when she’s on her A-game and jumping like that, why stop her?
“It’s the first time Nico has ridden her and he did the right thing. Not So Sleepy might have been a bit like that today and her jumping was taking her to the front, so let her stride on.
“What you could see there is her jumping is back together again – she’s so slick through the air. I think that (back operation) has changed the game quite significantly.”
MansionBet shortened Epatante to 8-1 from 10s for the Champion Hurdle and while Henderson admits his mare may ultimately end up at Cheltenham, he thinks connections have difficult decisions to make.
He added: “We set out at the beginning of the year with two goals – the Fighting Fifth and the Christmas Hurdle. Those were her two Champion Hurdles, if you like – and we’ve got one and a half out of two!
“What happens next, we’ll have to see. We’ve got difficult days ahead and difficult decisions to make. She’s still a very good mare, but so is Honeysuckle.
“That was a Champion Hurdle performance today. It’s another bridge when you get there, but I suspect that’s where we’re going to finish up.”
Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle (Grade 1)
£105,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Soft in places
1 Epatante 7 11-0 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 4/5F
2 2¼ Glory And Fortune 6 11-7 Tom Lacey Stan Sheppard 28/1
3 nk Soaring Glory 6 11-7 Jonjo O'Neill Jonjo O'Neill Jr 7/2
4 9 Tritonic 4 11-7 Alan King A P Heskin 4/1
5 hd Not So Sleepy 9 11-7 Hughie Morrison Jonathan Burke 4/1
