Marie's Rock (11/2) beat Dashel Drasher and First Street to win Grade Two careers@dornangroup.com Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham on Sunday; trainer Nicky Henderson now to decide between Mares' Hurdle and Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival in March
Sunday 1 January 2023 16:23, UK
Marie's Rock bounded back into action with a convincing triumph in the careers@dornangroup.com Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The Nicky Henderson-trained mare has not been seen since April, when she signed off her season with a superb Grade One double in mares' contests at Cheltenham and Punchestown.
Back in action against geldings in this Grade Two heat, the mare took no time to hit her stride when coming home a wide-margin winner at 11/2 under Nico de Boinville.
Getting weight all round, she made smooth progress to grab the lead from Dashel Drasher and galloped six lengths clear, with stablemate First Street a further head back in third.
Betfair make Marie's Rock a 4/1 chance from 8s to defend her Mares' Hurdle title in March, while she is 16/1 for the Stayers' Hurdle.
Henderson said: "It was remarkable. I was trying to train her early on in the year and I couldn't see anywhere for her to go. She wants two and a half (miles), perfect trip for her, but there wasn't a race for her until the Relkeel.
"I tried to train her early on in the year and she wasn't showing anything, which is what she did two years ago, when she took a year out.
"So I stopped and started again. All of a sudden, her work was completely different again. So you can guess what I'm going to tell you now?
"She will go for the Mares' Hurdle. The only thing you could have said, the original idea might have been to try her over three miles earlier on. It (possible race) was over three miles and it was Listed, but I wasn't happy with her.
"Do you do Stayers' Hurdle? I don't know. She tanked up there. I think she would have taken a blow at the top of the Cleeve Hill.
"We have all got to get everywhere. It is great getting your ducks in order, but you have to get them in the right order and they have all got to be swimming downstream at the right time."
