Matty Sutcliffe already has one 100/1 shot onside for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival and he can’t resist adding another winner from this week, available at the same price for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – Kalkbrenner 100/1 1pt EW 3 places
In the first division of the DragonBet Supporting British Racing Maiden Hurdle at Ffos Las on Tuesday 28th October, I was very impressed with Ben Pauling’s son of Getaway, KALKBRENNER, who was backed with confidence into 13/8 favouritism and repaid punters’ faith with a commanding performance.
Ben Jones jumped off prominently behind the keen going Bardenas and travelled strongly throughout, exuding confidence from the offset. Kalkbrenner jumped fluently, and when meeting some of his hurdles on a good stride he responded well to his jockey’s urgings, vice versa when getting in tight to one, he was able to quickly sort his feet out to get over in an efficient manner without losing momentum.
Kalkbrenner joined the leader around the bend on the home turn and had Swindon Village off the bridle with an excellent jump two out, easily dispatching that rival and having travelled strongly, it was impressive to see him draw away at the line to fend off the challenging The Price Of Peace.
In Pauling’s stable tour, he noted – “He is a horse I like, and I really think this horse is a proper type. He won his point-to-point and ran nicely up at Ayr considering how ours were running at the time. I think he could be a proper two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdler and whether he will end up in the EBF Final or whether he is good enough to be a Graded horse, I do not know. Though I think he is a proper one.” – The promise was delivered here, and while his immediate future may lie in the two and a half mile division, I suspect that given how he only started hitting top gear at the line (posted the fastest final furlong), the Albert Bartlett would strongly suit this one should he reach the Festival in March.
He was bought for £120,000 after justifying favouritism in Division Two of the Tattersalls Ireland Winter Sale 4yo Geldings Maiden Point-To-Point with Pauling also buying the winner of the first division (second in that race has since won a Perth novice hurdle for Lucinda Russell & Peter Scudamore), and in Kalkbrenner’s division the second has since switched hands for £135,000 to Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown, who has form figures of 242 in bumpers (peak RPR 116), with the third now in the hands of Gavin Cromwell who’s since posted an RPR of 118 when landing a Sligo Maiden Hurdle by 13 lengths.
It was pleasing to see the point form work out so far under rules, and given his future lies over further I thought he ran a credible race on bumper debut over two miles at Ayr in April behind the well backed relative of Dysart Dynamo for Willie Mullins.
It’s worth noting that Ben Pauling’s The Jukebox Man won a Ffos Las Maiden Hurdle on his hurdling debut (posted 5lbs lower RPR than Kalkbrenner) who subsequently was beaten a head in the Albert Bartlett in March, and I suspect that Kalkbrenner will follow a similar path to that one.
The yard have had plenty of success with Getaway’s stock, not least Handstands of late, and Kalkbrenner is out of an Oscar mare with that one siring the winner of this race in 2018 and he was the dam-sire of the 2023 winner Stay Away Fay.
I’ve no doubt that Kalkbrenner’s future will lie over fences, but I suspect he has enough ability to reach the pinnacle of the novice hurdling division for Ben Pauling and go one better than stablemate The Jukebox Man in winning the Albert Bartlett.
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