Highly Prized

Highly Prized put up an impressive performance to win the two-mile handicap hurdle. Always prominent, he chased a decent pace that the free-running Brandon Castle set from early, the front three with a good break on the rest of the field. He jumped to the front at the final flight on the far side final time, he travelled well in front out of the back straight and into the home straight, and he started to gradually pull away from there. He came away from his rivals from the second last flight, and he stayed on well over the last and up the run-in to win impressively.

This was a really nice performance from Emma Lavelle’s horse. Winner of two of his three hurdle races in Britain since his arrival from America, this was just his fifth run in total over hurdles, including one run over hurdles at Far Hills last October, and it was his first sine since August, and his handicap debut. He chased a fast pace, but he still travelled best into the home straight, and he stayed on strongly to the line to win in a good time. The handicapper raised him from a mark of 123 to a mark of 133, but he is progressive and he could still be well handicapped on his new mark. He doesn’t hold any entries, but he reportedly is at his best when he is fresh, so he will be of interest when he next appears. Two miles and goodish ground suits him well.

Huntingdon, 12^th November 2019