What's the verdict on The New Lion after his fall in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle?

Fighting for position in Champion betting

After the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle Lossiemouth hardened as favourite for the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival next March.

That’s understandable. Back in the safety of her box at Closutton, she was the only one of the top three in the Champion Hurdle betting who didn’t take a crashing fall at Newcastle on Saturday.

Meanwhile her stablemate, Anzadam, ground his way to a workmanlike and frankly underwhelming second behind Golden Ace in the drama-filled Fighting Fifth.

He’s out to 16/1 for the Champion Hurdle, squeezing Lossiemouth’s odds into 2/1 and tighter.

Golden Ace is into 14/1 from 33s to retain her title, perhaps a fair enough trimming of odds given she can hurdle at speed and stay on her feet. It’s counting for a lot in the current division.

The falls of first Constitution Hill and then The New Lion have obviously had a negative effect on their prices for Champion Hurdle glory.

Constitution Hill, a faller now in three of his last four starts, is out to 12/1, with a crestfallen Nicky Henderson left pondering his next move.

How many times can you keep on risking him?

That remains to be seen. At this stage he makes no appeal for a second Champion Hurdle given his propensity for hitting the deck.

Which leaves The New Lion, who is the big conundrum in the market.

Bookmakers are looking at each other shrugging their shoulders. A best of 4/1 pre-Newcastle, he’s still 4/1 in most places. No change. Sky Bet and Paddy Power offer the gentlest of nudges out to 9/2.

What happened to The New Lion?

First question. Do we think he would’ve won had he stayed on his feet at the second last?

Hard to say. Hand on heart, maybe not. He was a length ahead but under pressure on the inside with Golden Ace and Anzadam gathering their momentum to his outside.

Perhaps his stamina and battling qualities would’ve kicked in, but it was certainly no gimme.

Second question. With that in mind, why wasn’t he more in control of the race when he departed? Was it the trip? Is he good enough to justify being 4/1 for the Champion Hurdle?

Well, things didn’t exactly pan out perfectly for him.

In a small-runner field that turned from five to four at the second flight, Harry Skelton found himself left in the lead which was unknown territory for a horse that is usually held up over a half-mile longer trip.

AP McCoy picked up on the situation on ITV Racing.

“I just thought when Constitution Hill fell he might’ve been better off getting company,” the 20-time Champion Jockey said as he analysed the ride given in the JP McManus silks he made his own.

“But look, I can see why Harry Skelton’s done what he’s done. He won over two and a half miles at Cheltenham and he was probably worried it might turn into a sprint.

“It’s easy afterwards. JP once told me Tommy Carberry used to say ‘when you end up on your backside you’re always wrong’.

“But I do think if he was going at it again he’d want a bit of company.”

He certainly didn’t look a natural front-runner, almost running out at one hurdle down the back, and when he did finally get company in the home straight he took a chance that could not defy gravity.

You would think he’d be happier at Cheltenham, in a bigger field, getting a lead.

Skelton still thinking Champion thoughts

His trainer Dan Skelton, who won the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury with thriving mare Panic Attack later in the afternoon, certainly sounds like he’s already working back from the Champion Hurdle in his head.

“He’s fine. He took a chance,” he said. “It’s the same chance he took at the last in the Turners at Cheltenham. We got away with that one, we didn’t get away with today.

“We’ll dust ourselves down, have a bit more practice. I jumped him at speed a few times in the week, we didn’t come here under prepared, there’s no way we came here underprepared, but he was going at a speed there he’s not gone on the track before and it just caught him out.

“He’s okay afterwards. I’ve not had chance to talk to JP and the team yet but we’ll think about what we do.

“The one thing that we did learn today is that we’re okay at the trip. Two miles is a good trip for him.”

That’s an interesting take and typical fighting talk from Skelton. The New Lion has to go and prove it now, but you can understand the bookies standing back and leaving him alone.

We need more evidence, but he could still be the new kid on the block in a division that is desperate for a box office hurdler who can stay on their feet.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Free bets
• 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.