I’ve backed Nicky Henderson’s LECALE’S ARTICLE to win the Ballymore non-runner no bet at 20/1. He was bought for €320k two seasons ago after winning a point but missed last season through injury. He’s been campaigned very similarly to Shishkin as a novice hurdler, starting out by landing the same maiden at Newbury where Shishkin fell, and penned in for the Sidney Banks at Huntingdon this Thursday, the same race Shishkin took in before winning the Supreme. I’m not saying he is Shishkin 2.0 but it’s an ideal prep for a novice hurdler and trainers are creatures of habit when it comes to their best horses. Unfortunately, Huntingdon is abandoned but he’s entered at Exeter and Warwick this weekend and there does appear a bit of urgency in the Henderson camp to get him out again to tee up a tilt at one of the Festival Grade 1s. He’s not even entered in the Supreme with the Ballymore his only entry and he’ll require a third run over hurdles to get a handicap mark – unlikely given the timing – so he’ll either contest the Ballymore or skip the meeting altogether. Now a seven-year-old, I’m not quite buying the quotes from the Henderson yard suggesting he won’t be thrown in too deep as a hurdler, with all eyes on his chasing career that’ll begin as an eight-year-old – relatively late. If I owned him and he was in good health then I’d try and strike while the iron is hot. Now is a good time to have a bet because if he bombs out I highly doubt we’ll see him at Cheltenham and you’d get your stake back. Should he win, he’ll likely slot in around the 12/1 mark and we’ll have something to look forward to.
1pt win Lecale’s Article @20/1 non-runner no bet, Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (Betfair Sportsbook or Paddy Power)
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