Horses To Follow » Fair Along

Fair Along

Fair Along ran out a hugely impressive winner of the three-mile handicap hurdle at Cheltenham, making light of top weight of 11st 12lb, an 8lb hike and a mark of 152. Unusually, he was held up in behind the front rank, possibly because his stable companion, Liberate, who was ridden by stable jockey Richard Johnson, also likes to lead and they didn’t want the two going at each other and setting the race up for something else. Fair Along loves Cheltenham, and he proved here that he doesn’t have to lead. He will be seven years old in March and has to be a World Hurdle contender in a division that lacks strength in-depth this year. At the very least, you have to think that he will be better off lining up in the World Hurdle in March than giving lumps away in the Pertemps Final.

12th December, 2008