JCB TRIUMPH HURDLE (GRADE 1)

SADLY the catastrophic and fatal injury suffered by the hot-favourite Sir Erec totally overshadowed what was a remarkable winning display from Pentland Hills who came from the modest surrounds of Plumpton maiden hurdle last month to scale the heights of the juvenile hurdling division.

The build up to the Triumph was all about Sir Erec, and rightly so after the dashing colt had won both his starts over hurdles which more than hinted at stellar potential. Unfortunately though one of the brightest young talents in the country is no more after he sustained a fatal injury after the fourth flight.

In the immediate aftermath of the race the victorious rider Nico de Boinville summed up the feelings of so many at Cheltenham when he reflected: “You never like to win a race like that. It’s a terrible tragedy for all everyone concerned with Sir Erec.”

The demise of Sir Erec, who spread a plate at the start in a totally unrelated incident to the one he suffered in the race, left this race wide open and a host of the Triumph contestants were in contention as the runners approached the turn in.

At this point nothing was going better than Coeur Sublime who was travelling so well in the lead as he straightened up on the long run to the last. On his inner, Pentland Hills, a 73-rated flat handicapper, was finishing off really well and the 20/1 chance was just too strong for Coeur Sublime. He surged past on the run-in and hit the line with a growing three lengths to spare over Coeur Sublime.

Gardens Of Babylon, a stablemate of Sir Erec, finished well in third. to lie a further three and three-quarter lengths back in third.

“He’s finished off very well and he’s done exceptionally well to win as he’s made an almighty error at the first flight from which he has done very well to survive,” commented the winning rider.

“I have to say I really like this horse. It was only a Plumpton maiden hurdle that he won a few weeks ago but when I got off I said to the governor we have some thinking to do as this is a serious juvenile.”

Meanwhile Henderson, who has such a splendid record in the four-year-old championship, commented: “It’s such a shame about Sir Erec, he was a gorgeous horse. Our horse was only having his second run over hurdles and apart from the first he was very professional and he had plenty of experience from the flat so I suppose that helped him.

“Next year’s Champion Hurdle is a long time away but we’ll see. He’s a horse that is going to improve and he strikes me like a Punjabi type. We can also look forward to going back on the flat with him, which is something I think we will do.”