Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle |
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| Grade 2, Newbury 15:00 £50,000 added, 4yo plus, 3m 52y, Class 1  |
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| Friday 27th November 2020 | |
1 Thyme Hill 7/2
2 Paisley Park 11/4
3 McFabulous 15/8
10 ran Distances: 1½l, 5l, 2¾l
Time: 5m 58.62s (slow by 4.62s)
💪 Thyme Hill the new star staying hurdler!
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 27, 2020
🏆 Philip Hobbs' horse beats market leaders Paisley Park and McFabulous to land the Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle @NewburyRacing pic.twitter.com/oYvXE45yDi
It hasn't been a prolific start to the season for the Philip Hobbs yard, by his own high standards, but this was a huge success as Thyme Hill announced himself as a staying hurdler to be reckoned with.
It appeared nobody wanted to make the running as they took an age to get going at the start, Richard Patrick eventually taking the bull by the horns aboard Honest Vic.
He led for much of the first circuit until Vision Des Flos took over under Robbie Power, the injection of pace from the seven-year-old thinning the field out with Sam Spinner the first to cry off down the back.
With three to go Vision Des Flos' lead was eaten into with a posse of rivals breathing down his neck, with both Thyme Hill and McFabulous travelling well within themselves.
It looked set to be a showdown between the two, but as Thyme Hill mastered the Paul Nicholls-trained horse it was former Stayers' Hurdle hero Paisley Park who laid down the final challenge.
He couldn't quite reel in the winner, and, while it was good to see Emma Lavelle's horse bounce back to form after his Cheltenham flop, this was to be Thyme Hill's day after a terrific race.
Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle
£50,000 added, 4yo plus, 3m 52y, Class 1
10 ran
Going: Good, Good to soft in places
POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 Thyme Hill 6 11-3 Philip Hobbs Richard Johnson 7/2
2 1½ Paisley Park 8 11-6 Emma Lavelle Aidan Coleman 11/4
3 5 McFabulous 6 11-3 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 15/8
4 2¾ Summerville Boy 8 11-6 Tom George Jonathan Burke 11/1
5 3 Honest Vic 7 11-0 Henry Daly Richard Patrick 11/1
6 2¾ Aux Ptits Soins 10 11-0 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 40/1
7 6½ Lisnagar Oscar 7 11-6 Rebecca Curtis Sean Bowen 12/1
8 5½ One Night In Milan 7 11-0 Keith Dalgleish Craig Nichol 150/1
9 8 Vision Des Flos 7 11-0 Colin Tizzard Robbie Power 66/1
10 17 Sam Spinner 8 11-0 Jedd O'Keeffe Joe Colliver 22/1
