Summerville Boy

It might pay to retain faith in Summerville Boy for another little while, even after his defeat in the International Hurdle. Tom George's horse came under pressure when they started to race down the hill, but he picked up for pressure and he was just behind the leaders when he made a mistake at the third last flight. He was always fighting a losing battle after that and, while it was disappointing that he faded so badly, but we know that he is better than this.

He was weak in the market before this race, as he was before the Fighting Fifth Hurdle on his seasonal debut, when he could only finish fourth behind Buveur D'Air and Samcro and Vision Des Flos. He does have to bounce back now, but it is still difficult to forget the quality of the performance that he put up in beating Kalashnikov and Mengli Khan in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, after making a bad mistake at the second last flight and making another one at the last after getting back into it. He was beaten in his first three runs last season too, before he stepped forward and won the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown in January. It may be that we will see the best of him this season too after the turn of the calendar year. He is probably at his very best on soft ground.

Cheltenham, 15^th December 2018

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