Cheltenham: Lucky Place is Relkeel Hurdle hero for Nicky Henderson and Nico de Boinville | Racing news
Lucky Place announced himself as a contender for the Stayers’ Hurdle with a fighting victory over the admirable Gowel Road in the Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Nicky Henderson’s progressive performer made a triumphant return to the Ascot Hurdles and again took on Cheltenham Festival winner Jeremy Scott’s Golden Ace, who was sent off as the 5/2 favorite for this New Year’s episode.
Ridden by Nico de Boinville, Lucky Place was one of the runners to follow the advanced Gowel Road track as Sam Twiston-Davies tried to highlight the stamina on his father Nigel’s solid and consistent player.
Meanwhile, Gary and Josh Moore’s Golden Ace and Salver traveled elegantly behind as they stealthily moved into the contest going downhill for the final time.
With Salver falling terribly at the end and Golden Ace’s stamina beginning to waver, it was left to Lucky Place to hold off the rallying Gowel Road who refused to lay down and made young contender Seven Barrows answer every call.
He returned the winning verdict by three-quarters of a length at odds of 3/1, with Henderson suggesting the Cleeve Hurdle could be next as he looks for further evidence to justify a reversal in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March, as which Coral went 16 /1 with 20/1.
Henderson said: “He’s just the nicest young horse you could ever want to have. He was meant to be a chase starter and he jumps really well but I just couldn’t find the chance to go chase and I don’t mind saying that because he needed to chase.
“Luckily we’ve got some very good novice hunters doing that and he’s now back in the Ascot Hurdle and this, and I think he’s made the team for the Stayers’ Hurdle. He stays.
“He could go to Cleeve but I don’t know, a race over three miles is always going to be an uphill battle and does he need one on the way to Stayers or not? Nico and I had a quick chat afterwards and we decided he should have a chance at Stayers , but should we test it before March because we’re pretty confident it’s staying.
“He was ridden today to take the sting out of the race and we had to ride him as a stallion today, we had to step it up and get on with it and take the sting out of the faster horses, which he did, and then he put his head down and did well fought.
“It’s a division that’s open and I think he’s earned his ticket for the Stayers. We’ve got nothing else to race.
“I don’t think we have to prove that he stays on his own, we know that he stays and that he is on the progression curve.
“We think he’s a three miler, he’s improving and I’d say he’s better off continuing to grow than giving him another race. The only purpose of running at Cleeve is to prove he stays and why don’t we ask that in March rather than the end of January.”
