Ben Linfoot lays out his thoughts on Impose Toi and Iroko after their wins at Ascot on Howden Christmas Saturday.
Is Impose Toi a Stayers’ star?
The Grade 1 Howden Long Walk Hurdle has a rich history when it comes to being a platform for Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle winners at Cheltenham and IMPOSE TOI will be the latest to try and do the double.
Baracouda, My Way De Solzen, Big Buck’s (x3), Thistlecrack and Paisley Park have all done the Long Walk-Stayers’ Hurdle double this century and as an improving seven-year-old who is now three from three at the trip Impose Toi is clearly one of the main players in the division.
A strong traveller given a typical Nico de Boinville ground-saving ride down the inside throughout, he had too many gears for Strong Leader - who ran well in second and dispelled fears he couldn’t act at this track after last year’s no-show.
Impose Toi has been too good for him twice now, though, once off a slow pace in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, where his gears helped him when that race turned into a bit of a sprint, but at Ascot it was a case of different scenario, same result.
That’s because the Long Walk was more of a stamina test off what looked a stronger gallop at a stiffer track and that bodes well for his Cheltenham claims.
While we know he has the gears for an ordinary-run staying hurdle, as so many of them are, he still had to prove he had the stamina for a more gruelling test and this went some way to showcasing a different side to the son of It’s Gino who has quickly established himself as Britain’s number one in the Stayers’ Hurdle betting.
That can be a bit like being England’s best batsman in the Ashes and there’s no doubt a sterner test awaits when he clashes with the best that Ireland has to offer in just under three months’ time.
Ballyburn, Teahupoo and Bob Olinger are the three big guns that were missing from the Long Walk, while Ireland’s Honesty Policy, in the same JP McManus colours as Impose Toi for Gordon Elliott, caught the eye with his finishing effort for a close third on his seasonal return.
Indeed, there’s no surprise that both of McManus’ runners here were cut to similar 8/1 odds for the Stayers’ Hurdle in March, nestling amongst the aforementioned big guns who will likely bang heads in Leopardstown’s Christmas Hurdle over three miles on December 28.
Considering this, the Stayers’ division is looking stronger than it has done for a few seasons and the emergence of Impose Toi is definitely one of the reasons for that.
His Coral Cup second gives him some all-important Festival form and Nicky Henderson looks to have unearthed his best chance of Stayers’ Hurdle glory since Punchestowns (second at Cheltenham) 16 years ago, as he goes in pursuit of his first win in the race since Bacchanal back in 2000.
Did Iroko enhance his Randox Grand National claims?
The bookmakers certainly think so – IROKO’s generally 8/1 favourite now after his victory in the Howden Graduation Chase over 2m5f.
And connections will have been delighted to see the seven-year-old finally win another race for the first time since a Warwick novice chase over two years and nine runs ago.
He jumped well under Jonjo O’Neill Jr and won going away from the 154-rated recent Down Royal winner Firefox, in receipt of 3lb, finishing strongly, so this looks like a piece of evidence that suggests he’s better than ever following wind surgery in the off-season.
So far, so good.
The problem might be the handicapper’s reaction to this, as not only was Firefox, from the in-form Elliott yard, four-and-three-quarter lengths away in second, but the 160-rated James Du Berlais was six-and-a-half lengths off the winner in third (also giving the winner 3lb).
Joint-trainer Oliver Greenall had his best poker face on afterwards when saying: “I don’t know if those two have quite run up to their marks to be honest with you. The Willie Mullins horse definitely hasn’t as he never looked like he was going and Gordon’s just made a few jumping errors near the end.”
I’m not sure the assessor will have quite the same view.
I thought James Du Berlais ran his race despite suffering a bit of interference in the straight when short of room on the inside and this was more like it with the hood left off after his lacklustre reappearance in a red-hot John Durkan.
The Punchestown Grade 1 didn’t show him in his best light, but, while he threatened to lose sight of the first two at one stage, he hung in there nicely here and this was an upgrade on his effort in the same contest last year when he raced too fresh on what was then his seasonal reappearance.
Given he handily won a competitive Punchestown Festival handicap chase by over four lengths off a rating of 150 just three starts ago, he looks a pretty solid yardstick as well and it would be no surprise to see Iroko get nudged up into the high 150s after this.
Fourth in last season’s Grand National off 152, he was left alone after Aintree but is unlikely to escape the handicapper’s attention this time.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens, as he’s unlikely to run over fences again until after the National weights are announced (Kelso’s Premier Chase in March was mooted as a port of call again by Greenall).
So on the one hand this was a highly satisfactory confidence-bosting win. But on the other the authority of his victory over a 160-rated horse from the Mullins yard might just hinder his Aintree chance come the grand weights unveiling in February.
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
