Time for the French to show their worth

Lydia Hislop13 April 2012

Two French jumping stars, worth upwards of half a million between them, make tomorrow's Rendlesham meeting at the capital's Kempton Park a glittering - and most informative - occasion.

The first, Baracouda, we know was bought privately by renowned Irish gambler and Manchester United shareholder, J P McManus, in January 2001 for between £250,000 and £350,000 - estimates vary. Connections of the second, Japhet, have allegedly turned down offers of up to £300,000.

They can both prove their worth here.

Baracouda currently trades as oddson favourite for next month's Bonusprint Stayers' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Even conceding up to 8lb in this Rendlesham Hurdle, he looks unlikely to surrender this season's unbeaten record. The Francois Doumentrained gelding dominates this - albeit weak - grade.

On last April's Sandown form, Carlovent strictly has a chance of reversing his three-length second on 8lb better terms. He hasn't been in the same mood this term, although he'll doubtless be staying on at the death. Reliable old Spendid is the better forecast proposition.

Merry Masquerade was a shock winner of this Grade Two event 12 months ago, rallying to beat Teaatral after struggling to stay in touch early on.

He's been tried over fences this term, despite having made his dislike of them plain before, so expect better here. But he really needs further and heavier ground.

2000 Stayers' Hurdle fourth Effectual showed little on his return from a tendon injury and admirable Kates Charm is flattered by her win record in weak graded events.

Japhet doesn't appear until after the Channel 4 cameras have been switched off, in the Weekender Novices' Chase. The end-to-end gallop and a progressive rival in Frosty Canyon caught him out on his UK debut this month. Connections of this Royal & SunAlliance Chase fancy won't make the same mistake again.

In the Grade Two Gerrard Novices' Hurdle, Sossus Vlei can confirm the very good impression he made at Newbury on the same day Japhet got beaten.

He was smart on the Flat and can go places over hurdles. Never and Ground Ball, from France and Ireland, are big threats. Hitman is unreliable.

In the opening Coral Eurobet Hurdle, Colourful Life will be hard to beat despite his penalty for a facile Newcastle victory last Saturday.

With Norman Mason's yard in such fine form, Nosam may be worth an interest in the second event. Mini Sensation, from another in-form trainer Jonjo O'Neill, is the danger.

Kempton selections: 1.45, Colourful Life (nap); 2.15, Nosam (nb); 2.50, Sossus Vlei; 3.25, Baracouda; 4.00, Japhet; 4.30, Emperor's Magic.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in