On the day that National Hunt racing returned to the fray the biggest shock was not that the Paul Nicholls’-trained 8/11 favourite Sanctuaire finished well beaten in a field of four for the Class 2 Exeter Hurdle, but that most horse racing tips left his odds unchanged for the Ladbroke Hurdle at 14/1, writes Elliot Slater.
The valuable two-mile handicap event is scheduled for December 18, and I find it hard to believe that the four-year-old will turn over a new leaf in such a relatively short space of time after such a poor performance.
The winner of the Fred Winter Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last March, Sanctuaire went on to finish third at Aintree a few weeks later in the race won by Orsippus. He had a hard race that day. After a summer break the French bred gelding returned at Cheltenham last month and was travelling well when in contention and falling at the second last in the race won by live Champion Hurdle hope Menorah. That fall might well have shaken Nicholls’ horse more than had appeared on the surface, for at Exeter he was reluctant to line up and looked unhappy to be back in action so soon.
A horse who appears best in a decent sized field when able to settle at the back of the pack chasing a good gallop, the four-runner Exeter event was always likely to turn into something of a cat and mouse affair, and having consented to jump away Sanctuaire was soon pulling fiercely for his head under Daryl Jacob and eventually faded into third place behind the shock 22/1 winner Salontyre, who won from a remarkable 21lbs out of the handicap.
Whilst racing tips suggest that he will get his optimum conditions in the ‘Ladbroke’, the jury is very much out on whether or not Sanctuaire is quite the horse he was last spring when he looked such a progressive performer, and punters should tread carefully before parting with their cash in favour of him.
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