Zarkandar bounces back from Cheltenham defeat with Aintree Hurdle win

PICTURE: Martin Lynch (racingpost.com/photos)

Zarkandar holds off new order in thrilling finish

			HORSE/SP	AGE	WGT	TRAINER/JOCKEY	OR	TS	RPR
«	1		Zarkandar (IRE) 11/2	6	11-7 b	Paul Nicholls	167	*	*
						R Walsh
«	2	½	The New One (IRE) 11/4F	5	11-7	Nigel Twiston-Davies	155	*	*
						Sam Twiston-Davies
«	3	1¼	Thousand Stars (FR) 10/1	9	11-7	W P Mullins	164	*	*
						Paul Townend
«	4	6	Oscar Whisky (IRE) 5/1	8	11-7	Nicky Henderson	167	*	*
						A P McCoy
«	5	5	Countrywide Flame 11/2	5	11-7	John Quinn	168	*	*
						Denis O’Regan
«	6	2	Grandouet (FR) 4/1	6	11-7	Nicky Henderson	166	*	*
						Barry Geraghty
«	7	3¾	Saphir River (FR) 150/1	7	11-7	Lucinda Russell	129	*	*
						Peter Buchanan
«	8	13	Prospect Wells (FR) 22/1	8	11-7 t	Paul Nicholls	150	*	*
						Daryl Jacob
«	F		Raya Star (IRE) 25/1	7	11-7	Alan King	159	*	*
						Wayne Hutchinson

9 ran TIME 5m 3.90s (slow by 20.90s) Total SP 112%
1st OWNER: Chris Giles & Potensis Limited BRED: His Highness The Aga Khan’s Studs S C TRAINER: Paul Nicholls
2nd OWNER: Mrs S Such
3rd OWNER: Hammer & Trowel Syndicate
TOTE Tote Swingers: 1&2 £3.30, 1&3 £9.20, 2&3 £6.20 WIN £5.70 PL £1.90, £1.50, £2.50; Ex £20.10; CSF £20.53; TRICAST £144.44 TRIFECTA £141.20 Pool: £13,881.04 – 73.71 winning units.

 

ANOTHER majestic ride by Ruby Walsh and the fitting of blinkers worked the trick for Zarkandar as the Paul Nicholls-trained six-year-old saw off the novice The New One by a half length.

Thousand Stars ran another cracking race in this event to finish a close-up third, while the winner for the last two years, Oscar Whisky, was fourth.

The race lived up to its billing in every way in what was a thrilling contest, and the winning rider was grateful for Nicholls for giving him free rein as regards tactics.

“I got to the start and there was no pace so I made my own plan and I knew it would be okay by Paul – that’s the lucky position I’m in,” he said.

Walsh was his usual brilliant self on the 11-2 shot, making the running in a race where there was no obvious front-runner. He dictated the fractions perfectly so that when The New One came to him coming to the last he had enough in reserve to just see him off. 

Nicholls soon confirmed that the blinkers had made a big difference to this horse, who has never been the sweetest of travellers.

“I just felt in the Champion Hurdle he gave up easy enough,” Nicholls said. “I worked him last Saturday and he was very ordinary, so on Tuesday we worked him in the blinkers and it was like watching two different horses.”

Indeed Zarkandar did seem a shade lacklustre in the Champion Hurdle, where he finished fourth, but the extra half-mile certainly helped here as he was never going flat out until the closing stages. Now his trainer has plans to go up further in trip. “He will definitely step up to three miles next year,” he said.

Reacting to that news, Paddy Power now make Zarkandar a 5-1 chance (from 10-1) for next year’s Ladbrokes World Hurdle. 

The Champion Hurdle still looks a realistic target for The New One, who lost little in defeat here. Things could have gone better for Nigel Twiston-Davies’s five-year-old as he made a few mistakes, including a bad one at the second, but he was still the last one off the bridle and fought all the way to the line. He remains a contender for top honours with another year on his back and his trainer certainly seems to think so.

“I’m delighted. For a five-year-old novice taking on the older horses he’s had the race won everywhere but the line,”  said Twiston-Davies. “The others better watch out next year. He’s definitely up to Champion Hurdle class and we’ve got ourselves a very nice horse.”

fonte: RacingPost