kemptoN saturday

HANDICAP hurdles like the William Hill-sponsored Lanzarote are supposed to be ultra-competitive affairs but someone obviously forgot to tell Tea For Two and young Lizzie Kelly at Kempton.

The 9/2 joint-favourite simply ran away with the listed event, pulling 15 lengths clear of Little Boy Boru with Saffron Wells another seven lengths behind in third.

Kilcooley made the early running but was far from fluent and Kelly was happy to let Tea For Two stride on from the seventh. With stamina no problem over the two miles and five furlongs, the six-year-old took control and was still lobbing along approaching the final turn.

From then on it was merely a question of the winning distance and he was still running away at the finish. It should be pointed out that he had only 9st 12lb to carry with the 7lb riding allowance taken into account. The winner is still a novice but came into this with two victories from three outings over hurdles, one of them over course and distance. He will never be so eye-catchingly well treated again and would surely enter calculations for a race like the Coral Cup at Cheltenham, though Grade 1 events will also be considered.

Tea For Two is joint-owned by Ms Kelly’s mother Jane and trained by her step-father Nick Williams, who was winning the race for the third time. She is clearly very talented but needs more opportunities some of which may come from Neil King, whose yard she has joined; King saddled the third.

Both Kelly and her mother were surprised by the ease of the Lanzarote victory. “The early pace was too comfortable for him and he can be lazy in his races so I thought I should get on with it,” the jockey, 21, said. “It was nice to be up front and able to do what I wanted.” Mrs Williams later said he is more likely to stick to novice company at the Festival.

“There was never any question of anyone else riding him today because Lizzie broke him when he was three and rides him at home.”

Little Boy Boru broke a stirrup at the start, prompting a delay. He was ridden with maximum consideration and made his way through the field to finish a remote but creditable second. He should be able to win a handicap hurdle.