2:20 - Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle

Raced over a shade longer than two miles this is a race which is rarely won by horses who have been off track for a long time – in fact each of the last 15 winners have all come here with a run within the past 31 days. 10 of those has either won or finished on their last time out, while 10 returned 7/1 or shorter, so the market has tended to help find the winner reasonably efficiently. Interestingly, nine of the last 15 have been five year-olds. It’s been happy hunting ground for Nicky Henderson, who has saddled five winners since 2003, and 21 of the last 27 winners came from the front four in the market.

Market leader Global Citizen is short enough at 9/4 despite coming into the race in great form after wins at Kempton and Southwell, while Colin Tizzard was last year’s successful trainer, and sends Vision Des Flos with obvious claims. He only finished 6th last time out at Cheltenham though and questions remain. We prefer Nicky Henderson’s Style de Garde, who ticks a lot of the right boxes. He’s been out on track recently, when finishing 2nd in the Fred Winter at Cheltenham. He looked like a few more yards could have improved that result, so this should suit nicely. Proven on soft ground, over the distance and in larger fields, double figure prices appeal.

1pt e/w Style de Garde at 10/1 (3 places, 1/5 – Paddy Power free bet if beaten by winning SP favourite)

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