Fusil Raffles looks a serious Triumph Hurdle contender after Adonis success

Traditionally Kempton's card on the last Saturday in February is considered the final chance for novices who still have to prove their Cheltenham Festival aspirations to step up to the mark.

The meeting certainly did not disappoint with the tag of star performer going to Nicky Henderson’s French import Fusil Raffles, who booked his ticket for the JCB Triumph Hurdle with a blistering display in what had looked a wide-open Adonis Juvenile Hurdle.

With another ex-French juvenile Rose Sea Has, who races in the same two-tone green colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, teeing the race up with a frantic gallop, one could be tempted to say everything went perfectly. However, the manner in which Fusil Raffles strode right away despite hitting the second-last was deeply impressive as he smashed the course record in the process.