Supreme Novices Update: Tolworth Hurdle & Vautour

Any hopes of a standout Supreme contender emerging from the murky waters of the two mile novice hurdling division were dashed this weekend as Vautour was forced to dig very deep at Punchestown, in a race he was expected dominate. That followed a protracted battle in the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle between a couple of unlikely Supreme contenders for Nicky Henderson, particularly the winner who is destined to head elsewhere.

The Tolworth was a chance for The Liquidator to confirm the abundant promise he had shown in his opening two starts over hurdles. He had annihilated a small but seemingly competitive field at Cheltenham, his jumping again taking the eye as a rare asset, one that could take him to the top of the novice hurdling ranks. He was heavily backed to produce something close to his Cheltenham display against stronger opposition, in ground that was not going to inconvenience him, however the exuberance and brilliant hurdling style which characterised his previous goes over obstacles appeared to leave him as soon as he jumped the second.

I had been hugely taken with The Liquidator at Cheltenham, the performance, along with his Grade 1 bumper form left me in no doubt at the time that he deserved to be early favourite for the Festival’s opening race. He soon was after the great white hope, West Wizard met with defeat at Kempton. It was not long though before genuine excuses arrived for those in behind David Pipe’s charge and the worth of that form came into question. I certainly had to re-evaluate just how good that performance was, nonetheless even if The Liquidator isn’t quite the force he looked in his defeat of Sea Lord that does not explain the lifeless display in the rearranged Tolworth. The fact it was rearranged might be key as David Pipe expressed concerns over the sharp nature of Kempton, especially compared to Sandown, but such inadequacies are far from enough for me to believe he gave anything like his true running. Excuses are bound to be found and I am willing to forgive this aberration as he still has the profile of a potential Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner, though he has lost his tag as a solid proposition and Saturday showed his all-important hurdling technique is not unimpeachable.

Tom Scudamore’s efforts, on The Liquidator, to make the Tolworth a true test at two miles played into the hands of the eventual winner, Royal Boy, especially in the testing conditions. I had been very keen on the son of Lavirco in these pages last season and I suspect he may have beaten Melodic Rendezvous at Cheltenham were it not for an understandably conservative ride on his hurdling debut. He then re-opposed Jeremy Scott’s star in last year’s Tolworth where his jumping fell apart as he tried to make all. That was his final run of the 2012/13 season and little he had done this time around suggested he was soon to go two places better.  A swiftly aborted chase campaign, after an inexplicably lamentable first attempt, was followed by an admittedly smooth and impressive return to hurdling but it was over two-miles-and-six furlongs.

Such a trip was assumed to be the making of him and graded contests in excess of two-and-a-half miles was the natural way to go. The Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at Warwick on the same day as the rescheduled Tolworth was the intended destination until conditions turned heavy and they were mindful of a damaging slog reminiscent of that faced by their own Mossley in the same race three years ago. They knew Royal Boy didn’t lack pace based on his runs last season and his extra experience and stamina proved invaluable as he outstayed his raw stablemate. Despite the rest of the field probably having reasons for not showing themselves in their best light Royal Boy will be seen to best effect over further and this was a smart performance in the circumstances, one that should not be too quickly dismissed in the build up to his inevitable run on the second day of the Festival.   

If Nicky Henderson is to have serious contender in this season’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle it will likely be Saturday’s runner-up, Josses Hill. He is one I am particularly excited about, albeit more for the future and over fences than for the upcoming Cheltenham showpiece. He did well to win first time over hurdles at Newbury as big, slow, careful leaps cost him momentum. It was this lack of speed that left question marks over his suitability for high class hurdling contests over the minimum trip. Experience will help in this regard and while his careful style was still in evidence at Kempton, there were signs of improvement; his bold leap at the last nearly sealed the race. If he can get his act together over hurdles and continue his rapid progression it would be folly to rule him out yet. I imagine he will be given the opportunity to prove himself once more before March, with the listed novices’ hurdle at Exeter in early February sticking out as a likely option.  

Back in third was the Willie Mullins representative, Upazo, who had probably suffered for travelling to and from Sandown for the original Tolworth. He was somewhat laboured in his performance even if nothing he had done previously suggested he would be up to winning a Grade 1. I had expected more from Garde La Victoire, his loss to Ballyalton had felt like strong form but defeats for the pair subsequently must leave one with reservations. Philip Hobbs’ gelding was outpaced here and as I suggested after his Cheltenham reverse he might be a candidate for a step up in trip.

The lack of authority stamped on this weekend’s Supreme ‘trials’ has led to a greater air of confidence around Irving but the distance Prince Siegfried was beaten will not have added any substance to style of Paul Nicholls’ “Concorde”. Prince Siegfried was essentially alongside Irving at the last when he came down during their meeting at Ascot.  It was quite a heavy fall however and no significant gap between runs hence there is a chance he was still feeling the effects of that tumble.

Over in Ireland, Vautour, the horse who had recently been backed into 8/1 favouritism for the Supreme, made his fourth start over hurdles (second for Willie Mullins). One could be nothing other than positive about his first run in Ireland and there were no worries about a rise in class, he had experience, he looked readymade for it. Such was the impression he left at Navan he was confidently expected to take this in his stride. The second that day had come out and won convincingly since while the extraordinary market support for the son of Robin Des Champs and the vibes coming out of Closutton indicated we were about to witness something special. Finally a novice was about to lay a benchmark that would be daunting for any prospective challengers.

Sadly, expectations were not met, rather, disappointment was felt in spite of a hard fought and well deserved victory for Vautour and Paul Townend. Willie Mullins may have been deflated, as Vautour clearly shows a great deal at home, but calls for a trip to the Neptune are a little hasty. He was keener than ideal from the off, a typical Supreme gallop would soon sort that out, finding a slow(ish) pace on slow ground against him. He would have been well schooled in France and again his jumping was sound, measuring all, bar the last, flights well. This was harder than usual given the waywardness of Chicago in front, who I am sure was a frustrating presence for Paul Townend. As the race developed he would drift out to the left on approach to the hurdle before jumping right, across Vautour, who had inevitably made ground on the leader having kept in a straight line. From about halfway Chicago was also struggling to maintain the pace he was trying to set and as a result kept dropping back into Vautour’s path, before picking up again. Paul Townend then found himself locked in on the rail as Mr Fiftyone kept on the outside of the struggling leader. The young jockey did extremely well to pull Vautour back from in behind the leader prior to the home turn thereby allowing him to find his proper stride and quicken past.

He would have preferred a lead for longer as once in the clear he seemed to idle, inviting the onslaught from the eventual second, Western Boy. This lack of concentration contributed to his stuttering take off at the final hurdle and Western Boy’s well timed charge was on the brink of success. As he moved alongside Vautour the favourite found more and saw him off with more to spare than the bare margin suggested. I imagine everything comes more easily to this French bred five-year-old on a quicker surface, Saturday was not an enjoyable scenario and he was feeling the effects on the run-in. A race like the Supreme will provide him with a very different test, his opposition would of course be far stronger, but conditions should be more suitable and he does not lack speed or the necessary hurdling attributes to be competitive. Some firms have pushed his price out from 8/1 to 10/1 which remains far too short, yet the Mullins team usually know what they have on their hands and that price could be more an indication of what he will achieve than what he has achieved.