Gold For Alec
Seaniecon dug deep to win the Pertemps qualifier at Cheltenham on Saturday, and Kitty Foyle is another obvious one to take out of the race, after she went for home early and didn’t help her chance by hanging left on the run-in. But Gold For Alec also put up a noteworthy performance in finishing second, and he is the one who may be under-rated going forward. Tom Symonds' horse is not obviously unexposed, this was his 16th run over hurdles, but he is only six and he has hit a rich vein of form of late. He was probably in the process of putting up a career-best performance at Chepstow on his previous run when he fell at the final flight, and this was a significant step up on that. Racing from 5lb out of the handicap, effectively off a mark of 120, he travelled into his race well in mid-division, and he stayed on well from the home turn to get up for second place. He was still only 10th with half a mile to run, while the other three horses who, with him, filled the first four places occupied three of the leading five places. He did well to get as close as he got, coming off a moderate pace. He was fastest of all through the final four furlongs, his finishing speed of almost 110% of overall speed the highest in the race.
The handicapper raised him to a mark of 123 for this performance, to a mark which is 3lb higher than the mark off which he effectively raced, from 3lb out of the handicap, and that could make life tough for him. But he is obviously in the form of his life now, and he will be of interest wherever he goes next. His best runs have been at Chepstow and Cheltenham, both undulating, left-handed tracks.
Cheltenham, 24th October 2026
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