Lively Citizen aiming to bounce back quickly from Cheltenham disappointment

Wednesday: 2.50 Leicester
racingtv.com Golden Miller Handicap Hurdle | 1m7½f | 4yo+ | RTV

It’s only four days since Lively Citizen was pulled up in a competitive handicap hurdle at Cheltenham and trainer David Jeffreys has wasted no time getting his runner back on track.

It was bad fortune, rather than poor performance, that led to Lively Citizen’s early departure on Saturday. Rider Archie Bellamy’s saddle slipped, so he had to draw stumps after the third.

Lively Citizen had previously recorded form figures of 121 at Cheltenham and he had beaten subsequent Kempton winner Broomfield Burg on his previous start at the track. He is unraced at this course, but the fact he has a P by his name might just make him the value wager here.

Since the start of 2020, 35 horses have returned to the track within five days of being pulled up on their previous start and six won. That’s a 17 per cent strike-rate but, more importantly, the market underestimated them and a £1 bet on each yielded a profit of £27.82.

Ladykiller is the sexy horse in the race. He won a Group 3 on the Flat in Germany and finished ninth in a Group 1. However, he has yet to reproduce that form for David Pipe.

He is rated 98 on the Flat and runs off just 109 on his handicap hurdle debut, so could be thrown in. But, in three runs for Pipe, Ladykiller has been beaten a combined total of 93½ lengths and it’s a brave person who takes short odds on him returning to his best Flat form.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

Jennie Candlish, trainer of Caddyhill
He’s had a break as he wasn’t quite right after his run at Fontwell last time and we’re giving him a spin over hurdles to get his season going again. He’ll enjoy the ground and should give a good account.

David Jeffreys, trainer of Lively Citizen and Order Of St John
Lively Citizen got worked up before the race at Cheltenham last weekend, which isn't like him, but it was a bit of a non-event as his saddle slipped early on and he had to be pulled up. He needs to run and we’d thought we’d let him take his chance. Order Of St John is not without a chance but he could be in the grip of the handicapper just now.

Laura Morgan, trainer of Friary Rock
We’ve not had him long and we're still figuring out what his best trip is, but I expect him to run better than he did last time at Wetherby, where the ground was very tacky and he couldn’t handle it.

Lee Edwards, rider of Presuming Ed
He’s up in class since his latest win at Market Rasen but I’m confident he’ll run a big race as he likes going right-handed. There’s every chance he could boss the race as he likes to do and he should appreciate this better ground.
Reporting by David Milnes

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