Alan King’s Gibralfaro has been given a lofty rating of 151 ahead of his tilt at the Triumph Hurdle, for which this Grade 2 juvenile hurdle has provided a few winners in the past.
If such a rating is to be believed, he’s very well-in at the weights with St Saviour and Wolfcatcher and it’s hard to make a case for either, while Dan Skelton’s Azzuri has a huge amount of improving to do if he is to be competitive.
That leaves three French imports, all making their débuts in this country.
At 7/1, the shortest in price and our selection is Paul Nicholls’s PILANSBERG, and stable-jockey Sam Twiston-Davies takes the ride.
Nicholls saddles another, Zubayr, and claims there’s nothing between them, though he thinks the latter would appreciate another summer to mature.
Nicky Henderson races Khezerabad, though he thinks he’ll need the run and even today’s decent ground might not be fast enough for him.
All three receive 7lbs from the favourite and could be anything at this stage, but they might be lacking in race fitness.
We lack the benefit of a true grasp on the French form but the selection has beaten Khezerabad and Wolfcatcher before and has a useful third-placed effort behind the Group One winner Erupt, who ran well in the Arc last year.
He’s been racing well in Group company on the flat in France – he’s wearing the Frankel colours in the video below – so, provided he jumps well, he brings speed, class and potential to the race.
1pt win Pilansberg @7/1, 14:00 Kempton
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