Racecards
14:25 Kempton Park
williamhill.com Christmas Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1)
- 6 Runners
- Distance: 2m
- Going: Good to Soft, Soft in places
- Surface: Turf
- £75,000 added
- Winner: £42,758
- 2nd: £16,042
- 3rd: £8,032
- 4th: £4,005
- Form 3/5311-3
- Age 7
- Weight 11-7
- Official Rating 171
- Trainer N J Henderson
- Jockey A P McCoy
tracked leader, challenged after 3 out, led next, ridden and stayed on well flat
- Form 2404-92
- Age 5
- Weight 11-7
- Official Rating 130
mistake 1st, chased leaders on inside, lost place 4 out, soon no chance with leaders, tailed off from next
- Form 5B16-1
- Age 5
- Weight 11-7
- Official Rating 149
- Trainer P F Nicholls
- Jockey S Thomas
not fluent 1st, held up in touch, driven and outpaced 3 out, soon weakened, tailed off
- Form 0/51121-
- Age 9
- Weight 11-7
- Official Rating 167
- Trainer N & W Twiston-Davies
- Jockey P J Brennan
held up in rear in touch, switched to race wide approaching 3rd, headway 3 out, soon driven and outpaced, ridden next, 8 lengths down in 4th and well held when mistake last
- Form 2111-21
- Age 7
- Weight 11-7
- Official Rating 159
- Trainer D McCain Jnr
- Jockey J M Maguire
led, ridden and hard pressed after 3 out, headed next, kept on same pace under pressure aproaching last, no impression flat
- Form 3/1225-2
- Age 6
- Weight 11-7
- Official Rating 160
- Trainer A Fleming
- Jockey Timmy Murphy
raced wide, tracked leaders, headway 3 out, driven and outpaced approaching next, soon ridden, kept on same pace approaching last, no impression
Previous results
In depth
Verdict
Binocular's main target again this year is the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham so there's just a chance that he may not be fully wound-up for this. In any case, he finished behind Starluck in this last season and again on his reappearance behind Peddlers Cross at Newbury. Alan Fleming's six-year-old deserves to win a decent prize and should be able to pick off the front-running Overturn up the straight here but may be found wanting if it comes to a battle with KHYBER KIM. Second to Binocular in last year's Champion Hurdle, the nine-year-old is a classy performer who goes well fresh and will handle conditions better than most. Escort'men was an impressive winner on his reappearance under a big weight at Chepstow but it would be a surprise if he was good enough to follow up in this company.
Formwatch
Binocular (FR) 5-6fav (11-7) Held up in 4th, headway on inside to 3rd before 2 out, chased winner between last 2 and every chance last, lost 2nd and weakened flat, 3rd of 5, 7l behind Peddlers Cross (11-7) at Newbury 2m hdl G1 (1) gs in Nov.
Bocamix (FR) 66-1 (10-12) Held up in 4th, headway to track leading pair 4 out, ridden 2 out, stayed on under pressure to chase winner flat, always held, 2nd of 5, 2l behind Carlito Brigante (11-6) at Haydock 2m 4yo hdl (2) gs in Nov.
Escort'men (FR) 5-1 (11-10) Held up in rear, steady headway 4 out, soon tracking leaders, went 2nd 2 out, led before and 2 lengths ahead when blundered last, soon driven and just held on in driving finish, won at Chepstow 2m Limited hcp hdl (2) gs in Oct beating Olofi (10-8) by ns, 8 ran.
Khyber Kim 7-2 (11-7) In rear, headway approaching 3 out, left in lead 2 out, drew clear from last, won at Aintree 2m 4f hdl G1 (1) gd in Apr beating Muirhead (11-7) by 5l, 7 ran.
Overturn (IRE) 6-1 (11-6) Soon led, ridden to assert entering straight, kept on strongly, comfortably, won at Galway 2m hcp hdl gf in Jul beating Bahrain Storm (11-8) by 6l, 19 ran.
Starluck (IRE) 7-1 (11-7) Held up last, good headway to chase leaders and went left 2 out, driven to chase winner flat and stayed on but always held, 2nd of 5, 1 1/4l behind Peddlers Cross (11-7) at Newbury 2m hdl G1 (1) gs in Nov.