Sky Bet Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle |
|
| Grade 2,
Kempton Park
15:02 £30,000 added, 4yo only, 2m, Class 1  |
|
| Saturday 22nd February 2020 | |
1 Highway One O Two 4/1
2 West Cork 5/1
3 Kid Commando 15/2
9 ran Distances: 4¾l, 2¾l, 10l
Time: 3m 53.23s (slow by 11.23s)
Highway One O Two completes the hat-trick and lands the Grade 2 Sky Bet Dovecote Novices' Hurdle for Tom Cannon and Chris Gordon pic.twitter.com/0djX926jCG
— Kempton Park (@kemptonparkrace) February 22, 2020
Jockey Tom Cannon rode a treble on the day which included the Chris Gordon-trained Highway One O Two running out a clear-cut victor here.
The 4-1 shot was on the front end throughout the two-mile heat and while West Cork tried to challenge over the last two obstacles, Highway One O Two had far too much in reserve, coming home four and three-quarter lengths.
The five-year-old remains unbeaten in three starts over hurdles and while he is not entered at Cheltenham, Gordon could look towards the Imperial Cup in the run-up to the Festival.
He said: “You are always expecting the worse in my situation in life. This is great and an absolute dream. It is great for the old boy (owner Anthony Ward-Thomas).
“I don’t know how much he improved as those first two races at Plumpton he absolutely destroyed them and he has done very much the same today, which is brilliant.
“He does carry me every day this horse, so he is probably used to 14st and probably thought he was loose today.
“What was tricky today is that he had won over a staying two miles at Plumpton and the only way we thought we could deal with it today was to just get on with it. Tom has ridden him beautifully, like he always does. That was great.
“He is in the Imperial Cup, but we will just see how he is tomorrow. The main thing is I’m going to enjoy today.”
Cannon capped his day by making it a treble aboard the King-trained Mystical Clouds (3-1) in the Heed Your Hunch At Betway Handicap Chase, while Boothill (5-1) won the closing Betway Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race for Jonathan Burke and Harry Fry.
Sky Bet Dovecote Novices' Hurdle
£30,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m, Class 1
9 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Soft (in places)
1 Highway One O Two 5 11-2 Chris Gordon Tom Cannon 4/1
2 4¾ West Cork 6 11-2 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 5/1
3 2¾ Kid Commando 6 11-2 Anthony Honeyball Aidan Coleman 15/2
4 10 Buzz 6 11-2 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 6/4F
5 1¾ Garry Clermont 5 11-2 Jonjo O'Neill Richie McLernon 20/1
6 5 Faire Part Sivola 5 11-2 Nick Williams Chester Williams 10/1
7 8 Benson 5 11-2 Dr Richard Newland Sam Twiston-Davies 10/1
8 1¼ Bathsheba Bay 5 11-2 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 20/1
PU Calgary Tiger 5 11-2 William de Best-Turner William Kennedy 150/1
