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Vendor
Racehorse Photos

However, one thing that does strike me about this season’s renewal is that while it looks open, it’s not shaping up to be the strongest of renewals, and the Wikis for Vendor make for a pretty compelling case to back the French import.

Alan King does very well with young hurdlers, and while he has yet to taste victory in the Fred Winter, he has gone close on occasion – he sent out the second and third last year, and has had representatives in the frame on two other occasions since 2005. In Vendor he has a very likely sort that, in all probability, will go on to prove himself far better than his opening handicap mark implies. Consequently, while he is hardly a huge price at around 7-2, he looks the most likely winner of the Grade 3 contest.

Paul Nicholls won this race in 2010 with Gaspara to win the Fred Winter in 2007 and his hit the crossbar in this race on a couple of occasions either side of Gaspara’s victory. The chief protagonist from the Pipe yard this season is likely to be Kazlian. He is 2-3 over hurdles so far and is well worth his place in the line-up for this handicap.

Recommendation: Vendor @ 7-2 (generally available)