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Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle
Race Conditions
The Fred Winter Juvenile Novices Handicap Hurdle (5:20pm) is a listed race run over two miles and about half a furlong, and is open to four year old novices only. The total prize fund is £75,000.
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Recent Winners
In the inaugural running of this race in 2005, Nina Carberry, on Dabiroun, become the first female jockey to win a race at the Festival since Gee Armitage on Gee-A in 1987. Nina’s victory was all the more noteworthy as it came just hours after her brother Paul had been jeered by punters after his exaggerating waiting tactics had cost Harchibald the Champion Hurdle.
| Year | Horse | Age | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Crack Away Jack | 4 | Miss E C Lavelle | 14/1 |
| 2007 | Gaspara | 4 | D E Pipe | 9/2JF |
| 2006 | Shamayoun | 4 | P Brennan | 40/1 |
| 2005 | Dabiroun | 4 | P Nolan | 20/1 |
Key Trends
Three of the four winners won last time out.
Just 3 horses priced at under 10/1 have finished in the first 7 in four runnings.
Watch the 2008 Fred Winter Juvenile Novices Handicap Hurdle:
2007 Review
Another well backed winner as GASPARA followed up a win in the Sunderlands Imperial Cup at Sandown three days earlier, with an emphatic victory in this competitive handicap, landing a £75,000 bonus for her owner in the process.
This was a real family affair as the mare provided David Pipe with his first Festival winner in his first season as a trainer. And it was David’s father Martin who was lucky enough to pocket that bonus.
Punters and connections alike had little to worry about throughout the race, as things went to plan right from the off and Gaspara was given an excellent, positive ride by young claimer, Andrew Glastonbury.
She was sent to the front shortly after jumping the first of eight flights and was never headed. The key move came as the field ran down the hill towards the third last as her jockey kicked for home and put at least 6 lengths between her and the rest of the field. Nothing could get near her after that. The time of the race was good and everything about the winner’s performance suggested this was an excellent effort from a clearly very well handicapped horse.
Altilhar pipped the winner’s stablemate, Laustra Bad for second in the dying strides. He was decent on the Flat and the drying ground seemed to bring about some improvement here. He was staying on as well as anything at the death. Laustra Bad, meanwhile, ran well off what looked like a stiffish handicap mark.
Zilcash, who finished fourth, has been running well all season without getting his head in front. He would be interesting next season if connections decide to maintain his novice status until then. The only negative would have to be that there is always a worry about the appetite of a horse who has finishes second in four races on the trot as Zilcash did earlier in the season.
Jaro and Pouvoir are two to note from the stragglers as both travelled well during the race and ran better than their respective finishing positions suggest.
Andrew Glassonbury aboard Gaspara after winning the 2007 Fred Winter Hurdle
2006 Review
Some significant early morning gambles were foiled in spectacular fashion as outsiders filled three of the first four places in this contest for four year old hurdlers.
The race is only in its second year, having been introduced when the Festival was expanded to four days in 2005. However, owners and trainers already seem to have cottoned on to the idea of re-routing seemingly well handicapped juveniles to this race in the hope of pulling off a betting coup, rather than aiming them at the more prestigious Triumph Hurdle.
Not surprisingly, the best backed horse was the JP McManus owned Ouste, but as with other well fancied runners Royals Darling and Rosecliff, those who’d joined in the gamble soon knew their fate and all three horses were eventually tailed off or pulled up.
By contrast, SHAMAYOUN, the eventual winner, was always up with pace and took up the running at the fifth. He was clear three out, and stayed on well on the run in to repel the late thrusts of Artist’s Muse and Patman Du Charmil.
Front running tactics and blinkers appear to have rejuvenated the winner after some lacklustre early efforts over hurdles. The time of the race compared favourably with the Supreme Novices Hurdle and so the winner could prove useful, provided he is able to maintain his form. His victory gave jockey Paddy Brennan a first taste of success at the Festival and ended a nine year wait for trainer Charlie Egerton’s second winner.
Artist’s Muse clearly proved to be well handicapped off his low weight and would have been even closer to the winner had he not jumped the last poorly and lost momentum.
Patman Du Charmil finished best of all and may need softer ground. Despite this excellent effort, he may prove hard to win with given his style of racing. However, he may do better over fences in time, a comment that also applies to the fourth, Gardasee.