Act Of Authority
The other horse worth noting from the Martin Pipe Hurdle is the runner-up Act Of Authority. Noted here twice before this season, after he won at Sandown in November and after he finished third behind Irish Hill at Warwick on his last run before Cheltenham, Olly Murphy's horse put up another big performance here, staying on well from well back to take second place behind the impressive Wodhooh.
Well back in the field early on, in a race that was not, unusually for a Martin Pipe Hurdle, run at a breakneck pace, he was still only 16th or 17th jumping the second last flight. Switched to the inside in the home straight by Lewis Saunders, he stayed on strongly on the far side to take second place. He was never going to catch the winner, but time may show that he faced a difficult task, receiving just 7lb from Gordon Elliott's mare.
Act Of Authority continues to progress, and a 5lb hike may not halt that progress. He stays this two-and-a-half-mile trip well but, winner of his only point-to-point for Ellmarie Holden, he shapes like he will stay further. He will be of interest now in another two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle at one of the spring festivals, if that is the route that connections choose for him, but he has never been beyond two miles and five furlongs in his life under Rules, and he could step forward again for a step up to a stayer's trip.
Cheltenham, 14th March 2025
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