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Elgin given Betfair Hurdle option

17 January 2018

Alan King has entered our leading hurdler, Elgin, in the Grade 3 Betfair Handicap Hurdle at Newbury next month. The 151-rated homebred sprung to prominence this season when winning the Listed William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Ascot in November, shortly before successful once again in the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham's Open meeting.

Elgin won a bumper in his first season for Alan King, having been placed with James Fanshawe in Newmarket as a yearling, when harbouring Flat racing ambitions. The tall son of Duke Of Marmalade was too weak to train in his early days, but Alan has had no trouble with him, as he got stronger as he matured. Last season he was placed in graded company, but he grew and developed last summer, as has his hurdling technique. He has become an accomplished jumper following a mid-field finish in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last March.

Elgin's Greatwood Hurdle win was followed up by a sixth-place finish in the Racing Welfare Hurdle at Ascot before Christmas, which was a sound effort with top-weight. He appeared on the scene to challenge two flights from the finish, but the welter-weight took its toll after the final flight. Should Alan elect to run at Newbury on 10 February, Elgin will once again be running with the hopes and dreams of thousands of Club Members, watching live or on ITV Racing. He will probably have to contend with a high weight once again, but we hope he is still improving and the race could set him up for another possible race at the Festival the following month.

Elgin is the joint-highest rated jumper the Club has ever owned, but we hope there could be a pound or two of improvement left in the gelding. He could have options in novice chases next season, but we hope there remain races to be won with him over the smaller obstacles before then.