The mare is now as short at 12/1 for Cheltenham success after dominant Sandown victory; Gauloise was a bitter disappointment for the Willie Mullins team, finishing last of the five runners under Paul Townend
Saturday 8 January 2022 14:26, UK
Martello Sky put herself in the picture for the Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham and will head straight for the Festival meeting after a cosy success in the Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Mares' Hurdle at Sandown.
Sent off at 2-1, Aidan Coleman's mount looked ill at ease on the ground going down the back, but the grey was on the bridle again turning in and strode away to land the two-and-a-half-mile Listed event by a length and three-quarters, making it three wins from four outings this term.
The victory earned a 16-1 quote from Coral and 12-1 from Betfair for Cheltenham, and winning trainer Lucy Wadham said: "That was an amazing performance. Aidan said she hated the ground.
"Down the back he was wondering if he was going to pull up. Anyway, once she got in amongst horses she just took off and he just actually ended up hitting the front a bit soon on her probably.
"She is just very tough. The improvement has been fantastic and we were well in at the weights today, but she has defied the odds to do that. She will probably have a break now until Cheltenham and we will look at the Mares' Hurdle.
"She loves her racing. I said to Aidan that if she is hating it not to give her a hard race and when he got her back in the race she has just taken off. She is so much more relaxed than she used to be - she used to be a little bit keen - but now you can switch her off and that helps.
"When you have a filly like that who loves her racing, you can't go wrong and we are so lucky to have her."
She added: "There isn't much for her in between now and Cheltenham. We could go to Warwick which is another Listed, so I think we'll wait as she has had a couple of hard races."
