3 minute read
Newbury's three-day bet365 Festival starts today with a seven-race programme headlined by the Listed bet365 Intermediate Hurdle.
The two-mile limited handicap, registered as the Gerry Feilden Hurdle, was won by subsequent Champion Hurdle hero Rock On Ruby in 2011.
The weights are jointly-topped by French import Ch'Tibello (Dan Skelton/Harry Skelton), runner-up to subsequent Grade Two scorer Altior at Ascot last time out, and the returning John Constable (Evan Williams/Paul Moloney).
John Constable was a 94-rated performer on the Flat for Aidan O'Brien and made the successful transition to hurdles last term. The four-year-old captured a juvenile hurdle at Ludlow in January and returned from a short-break to easily win a two-mile novices' hurdle by five lengths at Huntingdon in April.
Williams said today: "John Constable has had a grand preparation. I just never thought we would be lumbered with top-weight in a race like this after winning two small hurdle races.
"To be honest, I don't know how we have earned the right to carry top-weight. It is difficult to know what to expect and it might be that he is facing an impossible task on his seasonal reappearance.
"The ground is going to be quite testing. I don't know if that will count for us or against us, but, with a four-year-old carrying all that weight in testing conditions, I don't think it will be in our favour."
San Benedeto (Paul Nicholls/Sam Twiston-Davies) drops back in trip under a 6lb penalty after capturing a two and a half mile handicap hurdle at Wincanton last week, while Wilberdragon (Charlie Longsdon/Tom Cannon) is out to build on a promising comeback at Ascot last month.
The line-up is completed by Grade Three Swinton Handicap Hurdle third Song Light (Seamus Mullins/Kevin Jones), improving five-year-old Kapstadt (Ian Williams/Will Kennedy), who has won three of his last four starts over obstacles, and bottom-weight Sternrubin (Philip Hobbs/Richard Johnson).
Un Temps Pour Tout (David Pipe/Tom Scudamore), winner of the French Champion Hurdle in June, features among an excellent field for the £35,000 Grade Two bet365 Novices' Chase (2.10pm, seven runners) over just short of three miles.
Those in opposition include Exeter scorer Native River (Colin Tizzard/Brendan Powell), Beast Of Burden (Rebecca Curtis/Paul Townend) and chasing debutant Value At Risk (Dan Skelton/Harry Skelton), who dazzled over hurdles at Newbury last season before taking fifth in the Grade One Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
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