Oxfordshire-based trainer Charlie Longsdon is enjoying a tremendous season and notched up his 50th winner of the campaign when Killala Quay stayed on best to land the Grade 2 Neptune Investment Management Novices Hurdle at Sandown on December 5.
Taking his career tally to four wins from just six outings, Killala Quay bounced back to form having let the side down last time out at Cheltenham when seventh of the 20 runners behind Thomas Crapper in the David Johnson Memorial Intermediate Handicap Hurdle, his first start outside of novice company. In fairness, the gelded son ofKaringa Bay was doing all his best work at the finish at Cheltenham so it should not have come as any great surprise to see him run on well up the hill at Sandown in what looked a hot novice event.
Paul Nicholls’ Saint Roque (5/4) was sent off a warm favourite in the racing betting odds as he went for his fifth straight win and led until headed after two out, at which point Nicky Henderson’s very promising Beat That took up the running and appeared set to score. But approaching the last Richard Johnson began to close onKillala Quay (5/1), and after pinging the final flight soon hit the front before running on strongly up to the line to score by two-and-a-half lengths.
Although for some racing fans, it’s already all about the early Grand National 2014 odds, there is bound to be interest in the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle back at Newbury later in the month. This could be an option for the winner, although connections were reluctant to commit to that race just yet having had three outings in the last eight weeks.
Longsdon did confirm though that the Grade 1 Neptune Investment Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival is definitely on the hit last, a race for which his progressive youngster is currently on offer in the ante-post market at attractive odds of up to 25/1.
