Megastar

Megastar is not one to give up on, even after his latest reversal in a two-mile novices’ hurdle at Sandown last Friday, his third defeat in a row. They went no gallop at all here and he pulled too hard on his first run in 41 days since returning with cuts on his legs after he finished second in the Tolworth Hurdle over this course and distance, and he just couldn’t match the pace of the 90-rated flat performer Topolski on his hurdling debut when the race turned into a sprint from the top of the home straight. Also, he was unable to quite hold off Nicky Henderson’s Lifestyle for second place.

Megastar is a huge horse who will surely be making his mark over fences before too long, most likely over further than the two miles he has been kept to so far. He simply didn’t have the same flat speed that the winner had here. He will be better on better ground too and, the winner of the Aintree Bumper last season, he will be of big interest if he skips Cheltenham (where the undulating course may not suit him anyway) and goes directly to Aintree for something like the Top Novices’ Hurdle. The pace will be much better for a championship event like that than it was here, and he will be able to settle much better, and he should be much happier on better ground. He is not one to lose faith in yet by any means.

18th February 2011