Klub De Reve
Klub De Reve was impressive in winning the Grade 2 Dovecote Hurdle at Kempton last month. Starting off towards the outside under Paul O'Brien, he gradually made his way towards the inside as they raced up past the stands first time. His jumping was good, and he moved up around the outside of runners as they rounded the home turn. He led when they straightened up and by-passed the second last flight and, while he got in tight to the last, he had plenty in hand, and he cleared away to win impressively.
This race may not have taken as much winning as it looked like it might beforehand. The favourite, the four-year-old Mustang Du Breuil, who was getting the age allowance, made two significant mistakes on the way around, and was playing catch-up from the middle of the back straight. Also, Huntingdon winner Double Measure fell, and hampered a couple of his rivals. That said, Klub De Reve won nicely, he travelled like the most likely winner from a long way out, and he probably won with more in hand than the bare winning margin. Harry Derham's horse brought a rating of 127 into the race, and he beat the 122-rated Koktail Bleu by four lengths, giving him 3lb. He was raised by 5lb by the handicapper to a mark of 132, but that mark could still under-rate him, if he moves into handicaps now. This is a race that has been won in the recent past by Lump Sum, who ran in the Grade 1 Top Novices' Hurdle at Aintree next time, and last year by Tripoli Flyer, who was sent off as favourite for the same Grade 1 novices' race at Aintree. Klub De Reve is improving, and the fact that he held an entry in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle is a measure of the regard in which connections hold him. He is two for two at Kempton, so he will be of obvious interest when he goes back there, but he has also run well at Newbury and at Exeter, very different tracks. He seems to be versatile in terms of track configuration, and he goes well on good ground as well as this good to soft ground.
Kempton, 21st February 2026
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