Hisaabaat prevails in Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown
Spring Juvenile Hurdle saw, Hisaabaat, clinch the top slot by a length and a half at Leopardstown on Sunday, February 12, 2012. The four-year-old speedy horse maintained an upper hand throughout the 2 mile long Grade 1 race, bagging a classy win for
Dermot Weld.
With 12 quality contestants, the party began at 01:05. Hisaabaat, who was carrying the odds of 15 to 2, made a forceful start to take a decent advantage.
Under Jockey A. E. Lynch, the colt was challenged by, Shadow Catcher, at the final satges of the race, but he kept on doing well to beat Gordon Elliott’s horse.
The runner up tracked the leaders well, and showed a quick pace in the later part of the race. However, that was not enough to trouble the champion, as he fell short by a decent margin.
It was second consecutive Spring Juvenile Hurdle victory for Weld, as Hisaabaat’s stable mate, Unaccompanied, won this honour for his trainer last year.
Hisaabaat has now appeared as a strong contender for next month’s JCB Triumph Hurdle, and Weld is happy to add another win to his tally.
"We won this last year and the logical route is to have a crack at the Triumph Hurdle with him," he said.
Weld continued: "I thought he got a lovely ride there from Andrew. He's what I call a 'made hurdler' from the Flat. He's taken a bit of time but he's getting his act together."
While Hisaabaat, registered his first triumph in hurdles, Shadow Catcher remained slightly unlucky. The four-year-old was superbly ridden by D. J. Condon, but the luck was not on his side.
Countrywide Flame settled third on the table, whereas W. P. Mullins’s 2 to 1 race favourite, Ut De Sivola, performed below-par. Under the famous rider, Ruby Walsh, the high status colt was held up at the rear, and was not fluent early on.
He failed to make an impact and as a result, seventh position went to the favourite contestant. Ut De Sivola was cruelly sent packing after an embarrassing 17 length defeat.
Weld would have been quite delighted with his trainee’s excellent show ahead of the Cheltenham Festival. Following his good run, BetVictor cut the triumphant to 16 to 1 (from 25) for next month’s extravaganza.
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