Darlan lands Williamhill.com Christmas Hurdle at Kempton
Making his seasonal comeback in great style, Darlan took a convincing win in the Grade 1 Williamhill.com Christmas Hurdle, held at Kempton on the Boxing Day. In the hands of A. P. McCoy, Nicky Henderson’s charge did not face any serious challenge, as he
comfortably notched up the first position by 4½ lengths.
Darlan was not enjoying the best of odds. The betting market was headed by Countrywide Flame, who reached Kempton after taking the Grade One prize at Newcastle earlier this month. The racing pundits were expecting Cinders And Ashes and Raya Star to upset
the 6-4 favourite, therefore Darlan wasn’t the centre of attention.
Things looked very tricky for the John P. McManus-owned in the beginning, as he failed to get off to a fine start. A mistake in the middle stages made the situation even worse for Darlan. The 3-1 chance still didn’t lose determination, and started making
smooth progress on outer.
His hard work soon paid off, as he managed to get his head in front a couple of hurdles before the wire. He never looked back afterwards. By pumping up his speed in the dying moments, the dashing horse extended his advantage significantly, and eventually
seized the first spot with ease.
Countrywide Flame failed awfully, as he was not always fluent. Since the John Quinn-trained stayed on one pace, he lost second place in the final moments. Raya Star, on the other hand, did well to capture the runner-up place, followed by Dodging Bullets.
However, both horses were unable to give any challenge to Darlan.
McCoy said after the race: "The race was run at a slow pace and Nicky said to be aware and ride him handy. I was just keeping out of trouble and making sure he got a nice run. It's nice that he won and his jumping was pretty good on the whole.”
Henderson added: "We've always thought he had a lot of ability. That was a funny old race. I didn't expect Punjabi to make it (the running), but they might have been there all day if Barry (Geraghty) didn't take the lead."
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