Unibet Elite Hurdle |
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| Grade 2, Wincanton 15:00 £70,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 7f 65y, Class 1  |
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1 Knappers Hill 11/8J
2 Sceau Royal 11/8J
3 Knight Salute 10/1
4 ran Distances: 2½l, 17l, 2¼l
Time: 3m 25.26s (slow by 2.26s)
Fighting Fifth on the agenda for Knappers Hill after winning the @Unibet Elite Hurdle @wincantonraces under @CobdenHarry for trainer @PFNicholls pic.twitter.com/UMmsFXQF0d https://t.co/ONRB5IicXn via @RacingBetter
— RacingBetter (@RacingBetter) November 6, 2022
Knappers Hill beat fellow joint-favourite and race regular Sceau Royal, making every yard of the running.
Alan King’s 10-year-old Sceau Royal was looking for a fourth win in the Grade Two event, a race he first won as a four-year-old way back in 2016.
He had been odds-on favourite to do so as well, but the good ground lover saw his chances fade gradually throughout the day as the rain continued to come down in the West Country.
Harry Cobden set out to make it a real test on Knappers Hill, and the six-year-old bounded clear of Sceau Royal after the last to win by two and a half lengths.
QuinnBet cut the winner to 10-1 from 20s for the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham later this month.
Nicholls said: “It was fairly obvious the only way we were going to win was by going a gallop. He jumped well, which was brilliant. He stays well.
“I texted Harry last night and said you will have to ride him like you did Greaneteen – be brave and go a good gallop. It was perfect.
“He is a good horse and he is improving. He obviously stays and we took the race to them. I was just worried a fraction about his jumping, but he is brilliant now. He is obviously a smart horse.”
As for the future he said: “I did put him in that (Fighting Fifth) then you would have to look at the Christmas Hurdle. He is just a wonderful horse.
“That was the next step up the ladder for him. He keeps improving so he could be anything.
“My ultimate aim in my mind is that I think he will be a great horse for the Aintree Hurdle in the spring on a flat track over two and a half miles as that would suit him well.”
Unibet Elite Hurdle (Limited Handicap)
£70,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 7f 65y, Class 1
4 ran
Going: Good to Firm, Good in places
POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 Knappers Hill 6 11-2 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 11/8J
2 2½ Sceau Royal 10 11-8 Alan King Daryl Jacob 11/8J
3 17 Knight Salute 4 11-5 Milton Harris Paddy Brennan 10/1
4 2¼ Milkwood 8 11-2 Neil Mulholland Sam Twiston-Davies 8/1
