Indie Belle

Indie Belle ran better than the bare form of the run suggests in the 80-109 two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle at Navan on Saturday. Prominent from early, she moved into a clear lead on the run to the third last flight and, when Aidan Kelly gave her a kick and she moved on over the second last, it looked like she might have an unassailable lead, as evidenced by an in-running low of 1.1. But her chasers closed on her on the run to the last, and she was caught with just 100 yards to run, fading into fourth place by the time they got to the winning line.

It was still a good performance by Robert Widger’s mare. A winner over hurdles in February last year, she got off the mark over fences in a beginners’ chase at Tramore in early December when she battled on well to get home by three parts of a length. The handicapper raised her by just 1lb for this run, which takes her up to a mark of 95, and means that she remains eligible for an 80-95 contest. She will also be of interest when she goes back over fences. She is rated 3lb higher over fences than over hurdles, but she has plenty of scope to go beyond that mark over fences now, a six-year-old who has raced in just four chases to date.
Navan, 21^st January 2023