Ivanovich Gorbatov
Ivanovich Gorbatov put up a really good performance to win the juveniles' maiden hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday.
There really was an awful lot to like about this performance from Aidan O'Brien's horse. He travelled well through his race, his jumping was really good for a debutant, he moved up nicely on the outside of Let's Dance on the run to the final flight, and he picked up impressively on the run in to put two lengths between himself and Willie Mullins' filly to win, eased down. Let's Dance is a really highly-regarded filly from the Willie Mullins' yard. She was sent off the 4/7 favourite for this, and she was backed in to favouritism for the Triumph Hurdle in most lists on Sunday morning. She probably ran her race, the front pair were clear. It is probable that the confidence in her is not misplaced, that she was just beaten by a better horse on the day. Also, the winning time was really good, the fastest of the four hurdle races run over two miles on the day, 3.4secs faster than Long Dog clocked in the Grade 1 hurdle and significantly faster than the maiden and the handicap, which is impressive for a juvenile hurdle in which the two protagonists were making their debut over hurdles.
Ivanovich Gorbatov is a really exciting recruit to hurdles. He won his two races as a three-year-old on the flat for Aidan O'Brien, and earned an official rating of 105 in the process. That is a high rating for a horse who raced just three times, he probably could have gone higher if he had raced on on the flat but, even with a rating of 105, he is a high-class recruit to hurdles. He stays well, and he sets the standard for the Triumph Hurdle.
27th December 2015
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