1pt win Open Eagle @7/2, Kempton 12:50

Altior, the favourite for the 12:50 Novices’ Hurdle at Kempton, is crying out to be taken on as the form of his recent Cheltenham win over the since-retired Maputo looks a shade lucky.

He did have Paul Nicholls’s Simon Squirrel well held on the day and there’s little reason to see those places reversed today, particularly as stable jockey Sam Twiston-Davies has gone for the progressive hat-trick seeker Marracudja.

A four-year-old that’s a few days shy of turning five, it’s 49 days since he ran away with a Wincanton hurdle, so he’s fresh, open to plenty of improvement and might outrun his 5/1 price despite his trainer sounding caution over the soft ground.

All-conquering duo Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh are represented with Open Eagle who won cosily under hands and heels at Fairyhouse on his seasonal bow.

The deteriorating ground will hold no issues as he has plenty of form on the surface from his flat days, and his flat speed is best used over this minimum trip so this race looks perfect for him – he’s made the journey over, after all.

Besides the unexposed Meet The Legend for the Skeltons, the rest of the field are long shots and it’s tough to see them figuring at the finish, so it might be between the first three in the betting and, purely down to the going, I’m siding with Open Eagle over the drifting Marracudja.

1pt win Open Eagle @7/2, Kempton 12:50

 

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