Another juvenile star for King? Triumph clues on show with Tritonic in Adonis

2.25 Kempton
Close Brothers Adonis Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 2) | 2m | 4yo | RTV/ITV4

Alan King has won this race four times and his 2005 scorer Penzance went on to complete the Adonis and Triumph Hurdle double. However, none of those winners were as talented on the level as his representative this year, Tritonic, who boasts a lofty BHA Flat rating of 99.

King’s 2004 winner Trouble At Bay, with a rating of 88, had the highest BHA Flat mark of all the stable’s four Adonis winners and even King’s two Triumph Hurdle heroes, the aforementioned Penzance and Katchit, were rated only 82 and 83 respectively on the Flat on turf.

Tritonic is therefore starting from a better base than those stable stars and his hurdling debut defeat of the reopposing Casa Loupi gave even more reason to be excited about his potential.

That was a fascinating race from a tactical perspective because Jamie Moore gave Casa Loupi a clever ride from the front and nearly stole the race with some fluent leaps. Casa Loupi touched 1.05 in running on Betfair, but Tritonic powered home to win going away.

Casa Loupi’s trainer Gary Moore had won that Ascot race with Goshen last year, while King was landing it for the fourth time in eight years. That suggests both runners went there with big reputations and they didn’t let anyone down. The front two pulled 18 lengths clear.

Everything points to that being the key form in this Grade 2 and Tritonic gave the impression he would learn more from it than Casa Loupi. Let’s hope he can live up to his billing.

Jane Williams might not have the same reputation for juvenile success as King, but she is equally adept. Since the start of 2018, Williams has saddled 11 winners from 49 runners aged three or four over hurdles, for a 22 per cent strike-rate and a £1 level-stake profit of £21.29.

Williams saddles Honneur D’Ajonc and he would probably have won over course and distance at Christmas but for falling at the last. He was matched at a low of 1.15 in running.

However, backing last-time-out fallers has been a losing strategy in recent years and that’s particularly true when assessing young hurdlers. Since the start of 2016, just 20 horses aged three or four bounced back from a fall over hurdles to win next time, from a total of 313 runners. That’s just a six per cent strike-rate and a £1 bet on all of them yielded a £231.57 loss.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

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Tritonic out to enhance festival claims

Max McNeill's biggest ambition in racing is to have a top-class two-mile hurdler and in Tritonic he could have just that.

The four-year-old was rated a lofty 99 on the Flat and made a smooth transition over hurdles with an impressive victory at Ascot last time.

Now Tritonic is viewed as one of Britain's leading Triumph Hurdle contenders at a general 8-1 in the betting, and is looking to give the McNeill family a change of fortune in the race after previous second and third-place finishes. Saturday's Grade 2 provides Tritonic with a crucial stepping stone.

Owner McNeill said: "This provides a different test than Cheltenham, we've always said the hill in Gloucestershire would suit him nicely and there's not a hill like that at Kempton. But this is another learning curve and a different test but one we're looking forward to.

"Not many horses go juvenile hurdling when they're rated 99 – and there's an argument that he's well treated off that mark – and on Flat figures Tritonic is in a different league, although it doesn't always play out like that.

"The bookmakers tell us we're favourite so we'll see how it goes."

What they say

Hugo Merienne, trainer of Margaret's Legacy
I think he'll like Kempton. He's a horse with a good future so we wanted to give him a harder race. He's in good form and we're hoping for a good performance. If he runs well we could come back for Aintree or go to Auteuil, I don't think he'd go to the Triumph.

Gary Moore, trainer of Casa Loupi
A good drop of rain would be handy. He's got to improve on what he did the last day and that's going to be tough but hopefully he's got every chance. I'd be more hopeful than confident.

Honneur D'Ajonc: faller at Kempton last time outCredit: Alan Crowhurst / Getty Images

Chester Williams, jockey of Honneur D'Ajonc
He was very unlucky last time and would've probably won that day. He has schooled since though and has been brilliant. Kempton suits him well and the better ground will suit him too. His form is very strong and we think he's the best juvenile we have had for a long time.

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Paso Doble
We’re dipping our toe in the water much like we did with Zarkandar when he won this race ten years ago. If everything goes well he could go for the Triumph, if not we’ll leave him for next season.
Reporting by James Stevens

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