Menorah wins Greatwood Hurdle
Menorah stamped himself as the latest Champion Hurdle candidate when he won the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle.
Philip Hobbs won the race with both Rooster Booster in 2002 and Detroit City and Menorah looks to be cut from the same cloth after a battling performance under top weight and a driving ride form Richard Johnson. Menorah had showed his potential when he beat Get Me Out Of Here in the Grade One Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Last season’s Cheltenham Festival but now he had the weight- 11st 12lb – to match the weight of expectancy.
More overnight rain meant that several jockeys, Johnson included, elected to take the long route on the wide outside of the hurdles track in the hope in the hope of finding better ground.
Bottom weights Bothy and Sure Josie tried to make the most of the featherweights in what were testing conditions. They were still in front at the third-last, which Menorah flattened – but that did not prevent him from getting into the fight with Get Me Out Of Here as al four jumped the penultimate flight together.
Menorah was then disputing the lead with Bothy off the home straight and then took a length advantage landing over the last despite stumbling slightly. But Bothy had a 27lb pull in the handicap, including rider Danny Cook’s 3lb claim, and he started to rally on the run-in. That was when Menorah showed that he could be something special as he dug deep to win by a neck.
“I’m very impressed. With top weight today, on that ground, it was going to be hard for him. To be fair he stumbled at the last and knuckled a bit the other side. If he hadn’t done that he might have won a bit easier. It’s just fantastic to have a horse like this for the future.”
Hobbs tends to view the future through the slightly pessimistic prism of a an well versed in what can go right but also wrong with horses who have the potential to achieve at the highest level, but he too was caught by the moment. “Very good performance, especially as they had to come so wide because Richard walked round earlier on and the ground’s definitely better wider.
“Ideally he doesn’t want it too soft and he really knocked the third-last out of the ground – normally his jumping is very, very good. But, in spite of all that he still won so very pleased.”
Menorah may have set something among this season’s hurdlers but Hobbs can also judged him by the standards of his previous winners in the race. “He’s only five, and I hope that there’s still a fair bit of room for improvement, so let’s hope he’s up there with those. After today he’ll go the conditions’ hurdle route you’d imagine – depending on what the handicapper does. So I suppose the old Bula [International] Hurdle back here – but he’d have a large penalty in that – or otherwise he’d go to the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton; so one or the other.”
At Punchestown, Solwhit gave a reminder that he is still a strong contender for the Champion Hurdle when he followed up last year's success in the Grade One Dobbins & Madigans Punchestown Hurdle.
Solwhit was thought to be in need of the race by trainer Charles Byrnes but he responded well to vigorous ride from Davy Russell to win by two-and-a-half lengths.
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