Ireland - Cheltenham Binocular wins Champion Hurdle @ 9/1

Binocular, ridden by Tony McCoy, wins the Champion Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.

Tuesday March 16 2010

Cheltenham 15:20 - Result

Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle (grade 1)

£370000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 110y, Class 1, £210937 penalty, 12 ran

Going: Good to Soft (Good in places, Cross Country Good,Good to Soft in places)

Race Report » Watch Full Race» Watch Closing Stages»

Winning Time: 3m 53.9s

Pos.	Dr.	Dist.	Horse	Wt	Jockey	Trainer	Age	SP
1			Binocular (FR)	11-10	A P McCoy	N J Henderson	6	9/1
		held up, improved into 5th approaching 4th, went 2nd after 3 out, led going well soon after next, ran on strongly flat opened 8/1 £20000-£2400 Each Way
2		3½	Khyber Kim	11-10	P J Brennan	N A Twiston-Davies	8	7/1
		held up towards rear, headway approaching 3 out, switched left and chased winner approaching last, ran on, no impression touched 15/2
3		6	Zaynar (FR)	11-10 p	A Tinkler	N J Henderson	5	15/2
		chased leader, ridden approaching 3 out, lost 2nd 2 out, beaten when jumped left last, one pace opened 9/1 touched 7/1 £25000-£2500
4		2½	Celestial Halo (IRE)	11-10 bt1	R Walsh	P F Nicholls	6	7/1
		led, ridden and headed after 2 out, relegated to 4th and beaten before last opened 8/1
5		nse	Starluck (IRE)	11-10	T J Murphy	A Fleming	5	14/1
		held up towards rear on outside, headway to go 5th approaching last, no impression on leaders opened 12/1
6		6	Solwhit (FR)	11-10	D N Russell	C Byrnes	6	6/1
		held up, went 5th after 2nd, pushed along and lost place before 3 out, soon in rear, no impression after opened 7/1 touched 8/1 £10000-£1200 £3500-£500 £6000-£1000 Each Way
7		¾	Medermit (FR)	11-10	R Thornton	A King	6	11/1
		held up, went 4th after 2nd, closed approaching 4th, ridden after 3 out, soon struggling opened 10/1 touched 12/1
8		4½	Jumbo Rio (IRE)	11-10	A J Mcnamara	E J O'Grady	5	50/1
		mid-division, not fluent 5th, pushed along approaching 2 out, soon weakened
9		1¼	Punjabi	11-10	B J Geraghty	N J Henderson	7	15/2
		chased leaders, closed after 3rd, not fluent next, weakened after 2 out opened 13/2 touched 6/1 £7000-£1000 Each Way
10		hd	Go Native (IRE)	11-10	P Carberry	Noel Meade	7	11/4 f
		held up in rear on inside, jumped right 1st, blundered next, headway to go 5th after 2 out, soon weakened, eased flat opened 4/1 £8-£2000 £4000-£1000 (x4) £7000-£2000 £2800-£800 £20000-£6000 £10000-£3000 £4000-£1200 £2000-£600 £3000-£1000 (x12) £1500-£500 (x4) £8000-£2000
11		nk	Raise Your Heart (IRE)	11-10	J Cullen	Ms J Morgan	7	100/1
		held up in rear, still going well enough when not much room briefly before 2 out, soon ridden and weakened
12		19	Won In The Dark (IRE)	11-10	G Lee	Miss S Harty	6	40/1
		raced in 4th until 2nd, weakened approaching 4th, soon well behind, hit 3 out, tailed off touched 50/1

Tote Win: £10.60 Tote Place: £3.40,£2.50,£2.40
Straight Forecast: £71.58 Tricast: £505.19 Exacta: £80.20 Trifecta: £608.00
Swingers:1&2:£11.70, 2&3:£10.10, 1&3:£13.80

Jackpot: £109,908.17 carried forward to Cheltenham, 17th Mar Placepot: £98.40 Pool:£895,596.75 6,642.06 winning tickets Quadpot: £29.10 Pool:£30,280.54 769.90 winning tickets

Analysis: After an unimpressive season and a setback just weeks before the race, BINOCULAR bounced back to his very best to win the Champion Hurdle under AP McCoy. Sent off at 9-1 by the punters who made him 6-4 favourite last year, the JP McManus-owned six-year-old hurdled like he did as a juvenile - quick and fluent - and travelled with ease behind the fast pace set by Celestial Halo. Paul Nicholls' charge set off like a hare in first-time blinkers but as he faded after the second last Binocular took up the running and never looked like being caught up the hill. Khyber Kim was a clear second best but chased the winner in vain, while Zaynar ran much better in cheekpieces and stayed on for third despite being pushed along early. Go Native was the disappointment as he found little after being held up while Punjabi travelled well but couldn't go on when asked.