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| Cheltenham 2012 |
Cheltenham 3u3g2z
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Top-Class Entries for Championship Novice Hurdles
02/02/12
Cheltenham is set to host some outstanding championship contests for novice hurdlers at The Festival in 2012 after entries were revealed today for the William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle, the JCB Triumph Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
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The Grade One Nicky Henderson, plus the Donald McCain-trained Cinders And Ashes.
Sheikh Fahad Al Thani has become one of Flat racing’s leading investors over the past two years and his Pearl Bloodstock silks have been carried to top-level success by Lightening Pearl and Dunaden, who captured both the Melbourne Cup and the Hong Kong Vase at the end of 2011. The young Qatari royal is due to have his first runner at Cheltenham with Vulcanite, who posted an impressive victory in a Southwell novices’ hurdle on January 18 and is on course for a crack at the William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, for which he is a 20/1 chance with the race sponsor.
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“His victory at Southwell was only a schooling round and he won as he liked, which he had to that day to be honest. His first run at Kempton (2nd, December 26) was good form behind Tetlami. We were very green that day and we threw our race away over the first two hurdles, but he pulled well clear of the rest so you couldn’t knock his attitude.
“I would like to think the more experience he gets the less keen he will be in his races. To be honest, I would not want the ground too quick at Cheltenham because he is quite upright, but it is always on the easy side of good on the first day at Cheltenham so I am sure that it will be fine.
“Sheikh Fahad is very keen on going to Cheltenham and that is reason behind having this horse as a jumper. He will not be investing in the Jump game as he did on the Flat, but if this horse is a success he might have a few more, but if not then he probably won’t have any more, so it is quite important for us that we do a good job with Vulcanite.”
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