2.10 2m. 179yds. 26 Declared. McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (GBB Race) (Class 1 ) of £100,000.00 5-y-o plus
1st - €56,270.00 2nd - €21,200.00 3rd - €10,610.00 4th - €5,300.00 5th - €2,660.00 6th - €1,330.00 7th - €660.00 8th - €340.00
FormscanBy Tom Weekes - SUPRISE PACKAGE won Saturday's Imperial Cup by nine lengths and carries a 5lbs penalty. He faces some unexposed novices but has strong claims if turning up in his Sandown form. State Man was an antepost fancy for five races this week and is highly regarded. He was beaten two lengths by Busselton on his only French run in May 2020 and while he could be Grade 1 standard, does lack experience stepping into this hot handicap. Another handicap debutante Colonel Mustard has sufficient hurdles experience and has run many good races in defeat in Graded races. Cormier is a course and distance winner who carries a 5lbs penalty for winning recently at Kelso. West Cork won the Greatwood Hurdle in November but suffered an overreach when fifth in the subsequent Betfair Trophy. Top Bandit won here in October and while progressive, faces a far stiffer task than when winning twice at Punchestown.