Lie Forrit

Lie Forrit ran out a really game winner of the three-and-a-quarter-mile handicap hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday. The ground was soft at Cheltenham on Saturday, and it is probable that Lie Forrit raced on the worst of it throughout. Ruby Walsh kept Earth Planet as wide as he could in search of the better ground, Timmy Murphy went as close to the inside as he dared on Great Endeavour. That pair are two of the most thoughtful riders in the weigh room, so it is probable that the best of the ground was at the extremities of the track, which makes sense. By contrast, Campbell Gillies went straight down the centre of the track the whole way on Lie Forrit, forsaking ground by not racing on the inside, losing energy by racing on the softest of the ground, and seeing daylight throughout. He travelled well, but he looked cooked when they quickened up and he came under pressure going down the hill, and it wasn’t ideal that he got the second last wrong, but he rallied impressively, staying on really strongly on the run-in up the hill to get the better of, ironically, Earth Planet and Great Endeavour. Given the respective rides that the three horses got, it is probable that Lie Forrit had a fair bit more in hand of those two rivals than the winning margins suggest.

Lie Forrit received plenty of attention when he jinked and unseated Campbell Gillies at the second last at Aintree on his previous run, the rider getting a fair thumping when he was mown down by a following horse. But for that mis-hap, he would probably be unbeaten now in his last four hurdle races. The handicapper has raised him 6lb for his latest win, and that is more than fair. He is only five and has raced just five times over hurdles, and there could be much more to come. He handles both good ground and soft ground, and he stays three miles well. Connections mentioned the Pertemps Qualifier at Newbury on the Friday of their Hennessy meeting as a next possible target, and he will be of major interest if he lines up in that.

14th November 2009