2.10 Ffos-Las - DragonBet Born From The Betting Ring Maiden Hurdle
Wrappedupinmay
In what seems an ordinary-looking maiden hurdle contest on paper, there could be a decent horse to come out of it in the shape of Wrappedupinmay for multiple champion trainer Paul Nicholls.
With only three runs in his career so far, he was a very easy point-to-point winner from Ireland, and he had just the two bumper starts last season.
A very easy and eye-catching winner on debut for the yard at Exeter, he beat the runner-up by a very cool 24 lengths. The form of that race is a little suspect, but he made all to pull away with absolute ease, and after all, he could only beat what was in front of him (or in this case, behind him), and not many win on bumper debut in the manner that he did.
The Nicholls runner then lined up against a stablemate in a decent Class 3 bumper at Sandown, where Wrappedupinmay was sent off the odds-on favourite with plenty of market support.
The ground was good-to-soft that day, as opposed to the heavy going he endured on debut, so with that in mind he could only come a 14-length third, beaten by two potentially quicker horses than him over the 2-mile trip. His stablemate who won on the day, Inthewaterside, is also one to keep a keen eye on during the season ahead.
The fact he is a winner in points over three miles suggests he has the makings of becoming a nice chaser in time, but all of the yard’s horses have to be taken very seriously no matter whether it's over the smaller or larger obstacles.
The way he won on bumper debut at Exeter was a very decent effort, and any going with the word soft in it will suit him quite literally down to the ground going forward.
Therefore he gets his preferred conditions at Ffos Las on Sunday in readiness for his debut over obstacles, running over 2 miles 6 furlongs, which again suggests he is very much a staying type in the making. Hopefully he can make it first time lucky over hurdles this weekend.
3.20 Ffos-Las - DragonBet Welsh Champion Hurdle
Nemean Lion
This race does look quite a decent contest this year, and the runners at the top end of the market do look like nice types.
Kerry Lee's Nemean Lion could be one to watch for the season ahead, with some decent form behind him, although he only has four runs over hurdles to his name.
He was once owned by Godolphin, who operated on the flat in France for trainer Andre Fabre, winning once and placed on multiple occasions, so one thing we know for sure is that he will handle any softer-ground conditions.
He did run on the flat for Lee on stable debut, where he finished last of 5 runners, but that looked to have prepared him for his stable debut at Hereford. He jumped well in the main, before making a pretty big blunder at the second-last, but he recovered well to pull clear and win by 10 lengths, putting in an impressive performance.
Nemean Lion then had three more runs that season, finishing a decent second in a nice contest at Haydock, before going on to run in the Grade 1 Tolworth at Sandown, where he came a very creditable third, only beaten by just under four lengths.
That was a decent performance, and had he not made a hash of the penultimate hurdle, he could have finished up closer to the winner and runner-up, just losing second spot in the closing stages.
He backed that performance up when heading to Kelso in March, contesting in a Grade 2 Novice Hurdle contest, where he won by just under two lengths, just ahead of Colonel Henry, who was a much more experienced and in-form rival.
He will still be learning on the job, but to place in a Grade 1 and win a Grade 2 on his third and fourth start over hurdles, shows he does have talent in the locker. If he was trained by a more "prominent" trainer, we would all be waxing lyrical about the horse heading into the new season.
Nemean Lion comes up against a horse rated quite a bit higher than him, and he also has a 225-day break to contend with, but he receives plenty of weight from his main rival, and he could well improve to be a better horse than the 135 rating suggests.
It appears he will be a patterned horse in a few runs time, as he looks likely to be much higher than his current rating come the end of the season.
Preview provided by @ Jake Russell