ASIAN MAZE, a particularly versatile mare, made sure there was no place to hide from the start, although she was travelling well within herself. Dual Champion Hurdle winner Hardy Eustace looked a danger going to three out but with the ground going against him, Asian Maze was clear jumping the next. She was driven right out to reflect her superiority and silence any sledgers pointing to her 7lb mares' allowance. She had won the Grade 1 novice over course and distance last year in great style and the ratings of the placed horses strongly suggest she was not overrated with a mark of 144, which left her plenty to find on official figures.On the face of it, she has raised her sights some two stone, even allowing for the placed horses not quite running to their best.
It was a surprise that connections again pointed the way to a two-mile campaign and the Champion Hurdle next season, even though the first fall of her career early in this year's race robbed in-depth analysis of her potential over the minimum trip. She skipped around here on the easier ground, measuring her hurdles, and has shown three miles holds no fear, so with the prospect of quickish ground whenever she revisits Cheltenham, the logical path would seem to be towards the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, for which the sponsors made her 10-1. She could possibly have a sighter in the Cleeve Hurdle there. Corals went a stand-out 20-1 for the Champion, but she showed in this year's race that she could not lead and she has looked happiest bossing the party.
Hardy Eustace looked particularly well and there is no reason to feel he has not run his race after his gallant third in the Champion Hurdle, for which he was dropped 5lb. As a winner of the SunAlliance Hurdle over further and a heavy-ground hurdle over two and a half miles at Leopardstown, arguments over stamina hardly wash and he looks to have run somewhere near his form.
Kawagino blew his handicap rating apart with a fine seventh in the Champion Hurdle and showed that was no fluke. He took the more conventional line up the straight but came home nicely clear of the rest, digging deep over the longer trip to finish an honourable fourth, though again proving just shy of the top level. He looks to have overcome any hurdling problems and being only six with a progressive profile he can win more good races if his sights are slightly lowered.
Patriarch Express was disappointing, as he was another with plenty in his favour. He, too, has won over three miles while looking as if this trip and some cut in the ground was the optimum. Racing prominently, he was shaken off midway down the back straight and capitulated, although the distances back to the stragglers was accentuated as they were not given a hard time from the home turn.
Last year's winner Al Eile ran a very flat race, with the writing on the wall passing the stands first time as he was being niggled along and dropping off the back of the pack. There was brief progress into the pack but this was clearly not his running.
Royal Shakespeare should not be written off on this performance, as he needs to bounce off a sound surface to be seen at his best, just like Intersky Falcon, who was pulled up off the home turn when among the small pack of strugglers. [BJ]
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