23rd-Feb-2019

Angels Breath has been all the rage for this all week, he is a really fashionable horse and he is high in the betting for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.  He looked good in winning at Ascot just before Christmas, and he could win out of the park, but he is under-priced in my book on what he has achieved.

The runner-up from that race hasn’t run again since, while the third, fourth, fifth and sixth have all been beaten at relatively short prices.  Also, that race was run on soft ground, and four of the eight flights of hurdles were omitted.  He may well win, he may well live up to his reputation today, but I want to be against him at odds-on.

I am backing Southfield Stone against him.  Paul Nicholls’ horse won three races at Taunton before Christmas, a bumper and two novice hurdles, all on good or fast ground, and he ran a big race on soft ground in the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown next time, finishing third behind Elixir De Nutz and his stable companion Grand Sancy, who enhanced the form last Saturday when he won the Grade 2 Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton.

He was beaten last time back at Taunton by Bold Plan, but that was over two miles and three furlongs, on soft ground.  He was conceding 7lb and the pair of them finished clear.

He is going to have to step up on that here, but there is a good chance that he will, back over two miles and back on better ground and with Harry Cobden back on board.  And we know that Paul Nicholls’ horses are in tremendous form after his eight-timer last Saturday.  

SOUTHFIELD STONE WON (ADV 9/1, SP 6/1)