I have to admit, I was blown away by how BURDETT ROAD won his race at Cheltenham on Saturday.
In the last few years we have seen very few decent horses moving from the flat, and going hurdling and that was because their owners would either sell them for daft money to race abroad, or keep them on the all weather surfaces through the winter.
He arrives from the flat with an official rating of 101 and if you can tell me the name of the last one to come off the flat to go jumping, with a rating that high, feel free to send me the name!
The Gredley’s have always been sporting though and it seems they have one that could fly high.
The soft ground should have been totally against him. He arrived as my Profiling selection but I saw fit to add the “no bet if it rides soft” proviso, because all three wins on turf, on the flat, had come on good to firm, including his Royal Ascot win this year.
Many others obviously felt the same because he was allowed to ease out to 9/4.
First the negative….he cannot jump. But he showed that jumping well, when you have his flat speed, doesn’t matter a jot. Not only that but he didn’t settle either. He was keen and Harry Cobden had to have a very solid grip on him….by the way, I think Harry is the best rider of a hurdler in the business right now.
Held up in last, and eating mud, he tugged, hit his hurdles, bunny hopped, but going to two out, Cobden started to step on the accelerator, and by crikey the way went from first to last between the third last and last hurdles, on that ground, was stunning.
He went into second going over the last and then the Royal Ascot speed came into play and he sauntered clear up the hill, the winning distance of six and a bit lengths not telling the whole story.
The scary thing is, they reckon he’ll bit much better on better ground….his form says that’s true!
Going into the race he was 20/1, the best you’ll find now is around 6/1 favourite.
I mentioned earlier this season that I was seeing this trend towards the better flat horses going hurdling and advised that Mullins had also got one, ETHICAL DIAMOND, who cost an arm and a leg….320,000Gns to be precise and after signing it off he is quoted as saying, “we cannot let all the good ones go to Australia!”
I’m now looking forward to seeing him!
