Weatherbys Racing Bank 'The French Furze' Novices' Hurdle

Off time: 12:56 | Winning time: 5m 43.0s

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Selected odds by:

Espoir De Romay²²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-3| J: Ned Curtis| T: K Bailey & M Nicholls| OR: 124

3/1

Kap Rock gelding; beaten 20L by the talented Jatiluwih on hurdles debut (Ludlow); showed marked improvement on seasonal reappearance with a 3¾L beating of the well-regarded West Cork (Dan Skelton) at Warwick (2m3f, good to soft); key player.

Form: 3-1

Glenduff²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-3| J: B S Hughes| T: N G Richards

10/3

Promise in bumpers despite being turned over at odds-on here (2m, good to soft) in March; sprung a surprise on hurdles debut at Carlisle (2m4f, good to soft) when readily accounting for the talking horse Faustinovick (Colin Tizzard).

Form: 24-1

Imperial Alcazar³⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-3| J: P J Brennan| T: F O'Brien

5/4

Vinnie Roe gelding with some useful bumper form on his CV; edged out Coconut Splash (in contention when falling at Newbury on Friday) when making a winning hurdles debut by the narrowest of margins in an Aintree maiden (2m4f, soft).

Form: 423-1

Victory Echo^t¹⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-3| J: Ross Chapman| T: M A Barnes| OR: 118

16/1

Beaten 13¾L (fourth) by the reopposing Glenduff at Carlisle (2m4f, good to soft) on his penultimate start; tongue-tied (also worn in points) when a comfortable winner at Ayr (2m4f, heavy) subsequently - beat Tom Lacey's Lossiemouth by 1¼L.

Form: P217-41

Checkitout^t³²

Age: 5| Weight: 10-12| J: B J Geraghty| T: C E Longsdon| OR: 125

8/1

Bought for £37,000 in May 2018; things haven't quite clicked into place yet over hurdles/under rules (453); ran his best race to date when finishing third of 16 to Sevarano in a Chepstow maiden (2m3½f, good to soft) latest - form franked yesterday.

Form: 345-3

Darius Des Sources²¹

Age: 6| Weight: 10-12| J: Sean Quinlan| T: C Grant

125/1

Bought out of the Irish point-to-point scene for £38,000 in January (a 3m winner for Kevin O'Sullivan at Templenacarriga); pulled up on hurdles debut at Kelso (2m6½f, heavy) three weeks ago; still early days, but has plenty of work to do.

Form: P16-P

Duc De Grissay²¹

Age: 6| Weight: 10-12| J: Ryan Mania| T: A M Thomson

28/1

Former pointer (cost £4,000 in May 2018); looked to be in full control when falling at the final flight at Kelso (2m6½f, heavy) three weeks ago - race won by a stablemate of Glenduff; place chance in a more competitive race.

Form: P4P2/3F

Prince Kayf⁹³

Age: 5| Weight: 10-12| J: Craig Nichol| T: K Dalgleish

40/1

3m point winner; acquired by Straightline Bloodstock for £50,000 in April 2018; obvious signs of inexperience on rules/hurdles debut at Sedgefield (2m4f, good) when run down late by Toshima (Robert Stephens); type to progress with further racing.

Form: 1/2

Forecasts

Imperial Alcazar (5/4), Espoir De Romay (3/1), Glenduff (10/3), Checkitout (8/1), Victory Echo (16/1), Duc De Grissay (28/1), Prince Kayf (40/1), Darius Des Sources (125/1)

A pleasing turnout for the French Furze Novices' Hurdle featuring four (should've been five) previous winners. The Nicky Richards-trained Glenduff downed a talking horse of Colin Tizzard's (Faustinovick) on hurdles debut at Carlisle, while the Fergal O'Brien-trained Imperial Alcazar took a deep looking Aintree maiden (2m4f) by the minimum margin. Furthermore, with the likes of Duc De Grissay (most unfortunate at Kelso) and Prince Kayf (green at Sedgefield) open to improvement under rules this will take some winning. Nevertheless, having fended off the well-regarded West Cork at Warwick, the upped-in-trip ESPOIR DE ROMAY is favoured for Kim Bailey.