BetBright Adonis Juvenile Hurdle |
|
| Grade 2, Kempton Park 14:00 £30,000 added, 4yo only, 2m, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 27th February 2016 | |
1 Zubayr 9/1
2 Azzuri 25/1
3 Khezerabad 8/1
7 ran Distances: 3¾l, ¾l, 5l
TIME 3m 49.90s (slow by 7.90s)
Zubayr makes a spectacular debut over hurdles to give Paul Nicholls his fourth Adonis win
Paul Nicholls' four-year-old was making his debut, just as Zarkandar did in 2011 for the Ditcheat handler - and he went on to win the JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on his next start.
SkyBet cut Zubayr to 6/1 from 12/1 for this year's Triumph on the back of the success, in a race in which favourite Gibralfaro was a disappointing fourth.
Azzuri tried to make all the running under Harry Skelton and he'd opened up a huge lead by the time they came to the run-in, but some poor hurdling in the closing stages let him down.
That allowed Zubayr to make up the ground and the son of Authorized won by three-and-three-quarter lengths from Azzuri, with Nicky Henderson's Khezerabad finishing off quite well for third.
Adonis Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 2)
£30,000 added, 4yo only, 2m, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Good in places
| Pos | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Zubayr (IRE) 9/1 | Nick Scholfield 10-12 |
P F Nicholls | 4 | |
| 2nd | 3¾ | Azzuri 25/1 | Harry Skelton 10-12 |
D Skelton | 4 |
| 3rd | ¾ | Khezerabad (FR) 8/1 | D A Jacob 10-12 |
N J Henderson | 4 |
| 4th | 5 | Gibralfaro (IRE) Evsf | Wayne Hutchinson 11-5 |
A King | 4 |
| 5th | 2 | Wolfcatcher (IRE) 13/2 | Aidan Coleman 11-2 |
J P Ferguson | 4 |
| 6th | 7 | St Saviour 8/1 | R Johnson 11-2 |
P J Hobbs | 4 |
| 7th | ¾ | Pilansberg 13/2 | Sam Twiston-Davies 10-12 |
P F Nicholls | 4 |
