Handicap weights: a closer look at the handicap hurdles
After the handicapper had his say earlier in the week, we take a look at who could be well treated going into this year’s Festival
The Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (formerly known as the Fred Winter) is the first handicap hurdle of the week and the market is dominated by Irish raiders.
The one that catches the eye is Gaelic Warrior. He’s yet to have a run for Willie Mullins but connections have made it pretty clear they think an opening handicap mark of 129 is lenient.
The son of Maxios wasn’t beaten far in his last couple of starts in France on very testing ground. However, there isn’t much rain forecast before the opening day and he’s probably going to face very different conditions here.
The hustle and bustle of a handicap hurdle at the Festival could be a baptism of fire and while there’s every chance the handicapper has underestimated his ability, a current price of 5-2 doesn’t appeal in a race of this nature.
The Coral Cup is always one of the most competitive races of the week and this year’s renewal looks no different.
The general consensus is that the British handicapper has been dropping ratings a bit quicker than usual this year and Nicky Henderson’s Call Me Lord (pictured) has been a notable beneficiary.
He was a Champion Hurdle contender just two years ago and showed he retained a fair chunk of his old ability when hitting the frame in the Lanzarote at Kempton. It’s probably worth forgiving his run at Sandown since when unsuited by a step up in trip and with a mark of 142, he could be very well treated if he turns up in the Coral Cup.
The Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle will draw the curtain on this year’s Festival and it’s unlikely that there will be a horse as well-handicapped as last year’s winner Galopin Des Champs.
However, 2021’s runner-up, Langer Dan, has come in for some lenient treatment from the assessor. He was in need of the run when making his return at Taunton last month and the handicapper has dropped him 3lb for that run. That means he’s just 2lb higher than last year when he was clear of the third by a whopping nine lengths and if he’s in the same sort of form this time, he will be hard to beat from a mark of 137.
