Carnage for in-running backers as Might bites the dust

Thistlecrack was the undoubted star of the show at Kempton and despite his inexperience he proved strongest in the betting in the run-up to the 32Red King George and was sent off favourite at 11-10. He never got much bigger in running in what was an uneventful race from a betting point of view.

The same could not be said of some of the other races on the card, most notably the novice Grade 1 in which the well-backed Might Bite looked likely to run out a wide-margin winner only to fall at the last when asked for a big jump that wasn’t really needed. He traded at a Betfair low of 1.02, while lucky winner Royal Vacation hit 240. Frodon traded at heavy odds-on for a place only to also fall at the last.

Tom Scudamore was the hero on Thistlecrack but he couldn’t quite get the job done in the closing handicap hurdle aboard the notoriously difficult Dell’ Arca. Since making a winning British debut in the Greatwood Hurdle three years ago, the seven-year-old has added just a minor novice chase win to his tally, but he looked set to end his losing run when bursting clear between the last two. However, he hung going into the last, lost his momentum and finished third, having hit a low of 1.07 in running.