Grafite to outpace high profile rivals in Totepool.com Handicap Hurdle at Taunton
Grafite, who has shown good efforts over hurdles this autumn, will appreciate Taunton’s soft surface, on which he is due to show his magic in Totepool.com Handicap Hurdle on Thursday, November 29th.
The 7-year-old showed enormous improvement on his latest start at Leicester, where he notched up the second place. He was third on his seasonal comeback at Stratford. After making a decent return, the son of Act One completely lost his rhythm, and pulled up on his penultimate start. He was among six runners who could not complete their run.
In the hands of Dave Crosse, the Anthony Middleton-trained started feeling weak at the fourth fence. He tailed off when pulled up before the seventh. It was a disappointing outcome.
Not losing confidence, Grafite quickly got his act together, and showed an excellent performance last time out. In the Weatherbys Foreign Exchange Handicap Hurdle, he was with the leader until approaching the fifth hurdle. Although the 12-1 chance stayed on well, it was not possible for him to trouble Open Day. As a result, he missed the gold medal by one and a half lengths.
It must have boosted up his confidence, which he would surely utilise in today’s contest. It is certainly a stiff task, but the form he showed last time makes him a solid option. Since there are plenty of very dangerous horses in the pack, Grafite needs to give more than one hundred percent.
A total of seven horses have entered the race. The pursuit of £5,198 will start at 14:15 GMT. Stamina is going to be the key, because covering soft two miles, three furlongs and 110 yards is never going to be easy.
Wee Sharp, an easy winner of novice races, has to prove himself on this testing surface. Titan De Sarti is yet to live up to the expectations. It is unsure whether the Nicky Henderson-trained will be able to show improvement in blinkers.
Apart from Well Sharp and Titan De Sarti, no one is likely to trouble Grafite. If Anthony Middleton’s gelding succeeds in tackling these two, it will be a straightforward win for him. Good luck to all the participants.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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