Week 7 Race 2 £100,000 Christmas Hurdle
Kempton 2miles Grade 1
Going: Soft

CACAMIRI (Hemz123) – 5yo stallion – W Renwick ( 11st – 116.
Consistent hurdler over this distance without really catching the eye, and seemingly a long way short of the many stars trained by this top jumps stable. Best form to date was running second behind Mandango Fandango over this distance in the G1 Maplewood Hurdle a few weeks ago. Disappointed in maiden at Newcastle when expected to lose his maiden tag, and requires massive improvement to land this race. Outside each-way chance as stable form cannot be ignored.

CALM HANDS (D W Hinton) - 4yo colt – P Aspell (11st – 0.
Winner of the Tingle Creek Trophy over 2miles at Sandown in week 5, a massive G1 victory for the stable. That race was over the larger obstacles however, and this horse comes into this race with no form over hurdles. With that being the case, this horse is best watched in this company but would not be a huge surprise to see him run well. Would need to be a big price to be worth backing.

CAMPAIGN CAKE (FiXiT) – 6yo mare – J Doyle (11st 5) – 121.
Picked up a G1 victory in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle by battling gamely to pick up Wild Wind just before home. Been running consistently well apart from a slightly disappointing run on her most recent outing. Still a lot to like about this mare without considering her to be the best 2mile hurdler in the league. Trainer will be expecting her to run a nice race and hopefully pick up some place money. Respected.

ELECTION DATE (Liam Durkin) – 4yo filly – R P Flint (11st 5) – 100.
Could definitely have done with an age allowance in addition to the filly and mares allowance for the race. Ran a disappointing race on her debut, finishing 9th of 12 in the Kennel Gate at Ascot last week over this ground and distance. Trainer will not be expecting her to win but would love to see her finish the race respectably. Massive outsider in this company.

ITS HULK TIME (Craig Stares) – 6yo stallion – R Johnson (11st – 120.
Form figures for this horse read 45343 which illustrates that this stallion is a consistent performer without setting the league alight. Nothing to suggest he will suddenly improve the required amount to win this top hurdling race, but expect him to run a solid race. Each-way possibility.

MANDANGO FANDANGO (HurricaneRun) – 5yo stallion – N Fehily (11st – 123.
One of the highest rated horses in the race, this highly regarded hurdler started the season with two fine efforts before picking up his first victory in the G1 Maplewood Hurdle. Lost his way since then, pulling up injured when expected to follow-up with another G1 victory in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle. Since returning from injury the horse doesn’t seem to show the same electric turn of foot to take up the running 2f from home. Still a proven talent in the 2mile hurdle division and the trainer will be hoping this horse can provide a change in fortunes for a stable which has been struggling in recent weeks. Respected.

QUAKE (Thunderspark) – 4yo colt – C I Gillies (11st 5) – 118.
Struggling to understand why this horse is carrying 3lbs less than Calm Hands. Anyway there is probably a reason for this which I cannot see, so back to talking about the horse who has won on his only start to date. This victory came in a listed restricted hurdle last week, over 2miles at Chepstow. The trainer believes this horse prefers the firmer ground, and therefore although there is some concern over ground the victory on good to soft first time out negates this worry to a certain extent. Interesting to see how this horse copes with the huge step up in class, where the quality of horses and trainers are at their peak. Each-way possibility.

SANDRA BULLOCK (D Hooley) – 6yo mare – S Thomas (11st 5) – 134.
Highest rated horse in race as she showed herself to be a massive talent when denying Romulus Augustus in last season’s Champion Hurdle. The question is still asked this season however: Does she retain the same level ability a year on? My fear is that the answer is no, as that air of invincibility has been dented after two defeats in three outings this season. The first of these was to Chinese Whisper, a horse HurricaneRun believes to be one of the best in the league. After returning to winning ways back at Prestbury Park over 2m1f in a G2, she was then out-fought in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle by Faramir Askarar. The quality of the opposition today may be slightly weaker than in these two races, and whether she is the same horse or not will not stop her from being heavily involved at the finish. Hard to beat favourite.

SPARKISS (JR1408) – 5yo stallion – P J Brennan (11st – 119.
Ran very promising race on his debut in a 2mile maiden at Newcastle, finishing ahead of Cacamiri who is in opposition again. Faded into 5th in the Kennel Gate Novices Hurdle, but demonstrated that was well worth his place in group company. Worth a shot at this race and the trainer will be quietly confident his entry can impress again and establish himself as a strong 2mile hurdler. Respected.

SWORD OF BRIXTON (Anadin) – 5yo stallion – D Jacob (11st – 133.
This is the type of horse which leaves you scratching your head! First run was hugely disappointing in a 2mile hurdle maiden, leading to the trainer exploring flat race and chase options for the horse. Continued to disappoint before winning in a field of twelve over 2m2f when returning to hurdles. Remarkably followed up this win with victory in the Kennel Gate Novices Hurdle leaving a few of these, and a number of other good horses behind him. Will undoubtedly have become the apple of the trainers eye and will be quietly fancied to go on to bigger and better things by claiming this valuable prize. Expected to be there or thereabouts when the race unfolds in the home straight, and the trainer will be sure to be yelling ‘VAMOS!!’ as they fight it out to the line. Leading contender.

Verdict: Looking through the form, this race appears to consist of a number of good hurdlers and one top hurdler in SANDRA BULLOCK. Although tipping her to win on her return at Wincanton earlier in the season where she failed to land my prediction, she looks to be head and shoulders above the rest of these. The ground is absolutely perfect for her and when she hits the front 2f out it is likely that nothing will be able to pass her. Mandango Fandango could be a big danger to the selection is recapturing his best form, whereas Sword of Brixton could also be a threat if continuing to improve. Campaign Cake should also run a good race and battle for the minor honours. Sandra Bullock is however a confident selection in a race where Quake is also an interesting contender. The place money is therefore most certainly up for grabs in this race, but the top 3 prediction will be:

1st – Sandra Bullock
2nd – Campaign Cake
3rd – Sword of Brixton

XL review m8

looks like...i wished i had a horse in the race lol

Paul(LR)

Nice write up!

Would love to see Sandra Bullock or Mandango Fandango win, 2 nice horses, looking forward to the outcome. If Campaign Cake is in the shake up I will be thrilled, I knew she was a nice 2miler and tough as old boots but to be up with the top class, well I never expected that much. Good luck to all.

Great write up... and I think you have it right although a 2nd for my Sword of Brixton

Great preview Ryan

Top stuff Ryan. Some class racin this week in all 3 leagues.

Gr8 racing indeed..even more so if ur stable is competitive

BOIL to all this week in the 3 leagues

Paul(LR)

Great preview Ryan

Trials went very well last week for sandra so im confident she can win here but it wont be easy against a very good field

its a real shame Chinese Whisper and Faramir Askarar aint in the race they have gone to ireland but im sure Istabraq will show them who is boss

great write up bud tops

Going to be a cracking week all round, but for me this is where the NH starts to get very exciting.

Sandra Bullock is the stand out horse here, will take a big performance from the other runners to get passed her this week.

It was a hard decision on where Faramir Askarar was gonna run this week, just feel the extra furlong in Ireland will bring more improvement out of my horse.

Istabraq could be a hard nut to crack, but if my boys there at the last, he wont go down without a fight.

Really looking forward to the races this Thursday, got a few big chances. But i know how hard this league is to get winners, you need abit of luck on your side.

Nice preview mate, expecting Sandra to go in!

same as hemz david mate, chinese needed the heavy when he beat sandra at wincanton so he could use his stamina.

as its soft i decided to go for the extra furlong to let him pass Faramir and istabraq close home!!

I like the extra furlong distance, not for my horses of course but it makes trainers pick a race with more judgement than just prize money. Should be a lot more of this in the schedule I reckon.

I know I was juggling with sending Campaign Cake to Ireland and letting Uncertain Reserve go for the this but in the end thought Uncertain has a nice hcp rating so keep him at home for now. I like it when I have to make that kind of decision rather than just throw them in.

I also realise tweaking the schedule is very hard and not something to be taken lightly with so few races per week and so many distances to cover.