Buveur D'Air steps up to Champion mark off solid pace

Buveur D'Air on his way to a four-and-a-half-length victory in the Champion HurdleCredit: Grossick Racing Photography 0771

The Stan James Champion Hurdle may have lacked an obvious star performer going into the race, but it produced a good winner in the shape of Buveur D'Air, who had finished third behind Altior in a vintage Supreme Novices' Hurdle last year.

The winning RPR of 170+ is on a par with the ten-year average and represented an improvement of 11lb on his previous best.

Solid fractions set by third-placed Petit Mouchoir (163) resulted in a winning time over two seconds quicker than that posted by the novice Labaik in the opener and, with runner-up My Tent Or Yours (165) and fifth-placed The New One (160) pretty much reproducing their marks from last year's race, the form makes sense.

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Steve MasonSenior handicapper

Published on 14 March 2017inReports

Last updated 17:47, 14 March 2017

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