Agrapart

27th-Jan-2018

I think that it is worth taking on Finian’s Oscar at the price.  He has buckets of potential, he was one of last season’s top novice hurdlers, but he has nothing in hand on ratings, he still has to prove that he can stay three miles, and it is not ideal that he is coming back to hurdles having been chasing.

Wholestone was tempting, but he is probably priced up about right at 7/2, whereas Agrapart looks over-priced at 8/1, and it is worth backing him at that.

Nick Williams’ horse does have three lengths to find with Wholestone on their running in the Relkeel Hurdle on New Year’s Day, but he is 3lb better off and, more importantly, that was over two and a half miles.  Wholestone stays three miles all right, but Agrapart is all stamina, he would have been more inconvenienced than most by the shorter trip.  He stayed on well up the hill that day, after getting out-paced when they quickened, to take second place.

He has won at Cheltenham, he won that Relkeel Hurdle last year, and soft ground is key to him.  Soft ground and three miles bring about the best in him, and he loves the Cheltenham hill.  He has run three times there, and two of those three runs were the two best runs of his career.

He is generally and under-rated horse, and he has been under-rated again today by the market in my book.

AGRAPART WON (SP 9/1)