2.10 Huntingdon: the one race you don't want to miss on Friday

2.10 HuntingdonWeatherbys Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle | 2m, 4yo | RTV

Tipster analysis

This race has a healthy heritage, albeit one given slight scuff last year by winner Prabeni who returned an RPR of just 118. Take him out and the average rating of the winner since 2010 has been 131.

This year's field might be numerically diminished, but there is every chance that it will prove to be up to scratch in terms of quality. For that, organisers can thank the race's two best patrons: Gary Moore and Alan King.

In the last nine runnings (the 2012 renewal was cancelled), seven have included a runner from King's yard, with Moore just one behind with six representatives. This year they are responsible for dominant duo Lord Lamington and Goshen respectively.

While Lord Lamington has the ostensibly higher-class form having finished second in the Grade 2 Summit Hurdle at Doncaster last month, it is Goshen who holds the stronger claims.

He has won his last five starts over both codes, the first three coming on the Flat, where he ultimately reached an RPR of 97 after winning by seven lengths at Nottingham in October.

Goshen (Jamie Moore) on his way to winning the Introductory Juvenile Hurdle at Sandown last monthCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Since then, he has been a thumping winner on both his runs over hurdles. He came home 23 lengths in front of a subsequent winner at Fontwell on his first outing before winning by 34 lengths at Sandown, beating Thyme White, who was beaten less than two lengths in second at Kempton on Desert Orchid day.

For those wins he carries 8lb more than Lord Lamington and, on BHA ratings, that brings the latter-named firmly into play.

However, Racing Post Ratings favour Goshen to an eyecatching degree – his 142 is 20lb superior to Lord Lamington. The Triumph Hurdle betting broadly agrees with the Racing Post assessment as Goshen is a best-priced 8-1 while Lord Lamington is available 33s. It is hard to disagree with that assessment given how impressive Goshen has been so far.

The other two runners can be overlooked. Building Bridges has shown enough to win an ordinary juvenile hurdle but this will likely prove too hot, while Greek Kodiac showed modest form on the Flat in the second half of 2019 and debuts over hurdles for Mick Quinn, who has yet to train a National Hunt winner.
Keith Melrose, betting editor

What the statistics say

A race with a small field is not always easy to crack. This contest has had a single-figure line-up for the last six years yet all bar one favourite has been beaten.

Harristown (2014) and Esprit De Somoza (2018) have both sprung 20-1 surprises recently.

Gary Moore has won with one of his six runners in the past decade, while Alan King has also won once and has had two horses placed in that period.

What the trainers say

Gary Moore, trainer of Goshen
I'm very much looking forward to it – so far so good. He's in good shape and it was always the plan to go here or to Cheltenham, and I'll leave going to Cheltenham until I have to. I hope this will give him a bit more experience. You'd like a few more runners in the race but with his style of racing he never sees many horses anyway.

Stuart Edmunds, trainer of Building Bridges
He made a winning start for us at Huntingdon, which was a very encouraging performance. We then took him all the way to Musselburgh hoping to get some nice ground but it was fairly soft and he hated it – he was beaten by the time he fell at the second-last. He was a bit sore after but he's grand again now.

Alan King, trainer of Lord Lamington
He won well on his hurdling debut at Market Rasen and was racing for the second time in just nine days when runner-up in a Grade 2 at Doncaster. He acquitted himself very well in the circumstances there and should build on what he's done so far. The more the ground dries up, the better for him.

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