McFabulous back on winning form with Relkeel success McFabulous stamped his class on the Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle at Kempton. The Grade Two bumper winner was disappointing on his first couple of starts over obstacles last winter, but having got his act together in the new year with wins at Market Rasen and in the EBF Final at Kempton, he made a successful return in October’s Persian War at Chepstow. The seven-year-old’s winning run came to an end in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury the following month, but he was far from disgraced in finishing third behind the top-class pair of Thyme Hill and Paisley Park, and he was the 10-11 favourite to land this Grade Two prize, rescheduled from Cheltenham’s abandoned New Year’s Day card. There were a few worrying moments for his supporters during the early stages, with a couple of untidy leaps putting McFabulous on the back foot and briefly taking him to the rear of the field under Harry Cobden. But the Paul Nicholls-trained gelding made stealthy headway racing down the back straight and eased clear in the end — passing the post with just over two lengths in hand over On The Blind Side.
