County Hurdle Tips: Kayf Blanco

It might seem like lunacy to suggest the bet of the week is in a 26-runner handicap but there is plenty to like about Kayf Blanco.

He started the season with a couple of good performances at Wetherby but really caught the eye when finishing third at Cheltenham in December. He was travelling well turning at the bottom of the hill but got caught in a pocket whilst Solstice Star got first run on him.

In a race run at an even gallop (102.6% finishing speed), Kayf Blanco was left with too much ground to make up. He belted the final fence (his only mistake of the round) and still managed to run the fastest closing sectional. With better luck he’d have gone close.

On his next start he was well beaten but conditions were against him as Graeme McPherson writes on his website.

‘ To be fair to him, a slight change of tactics today – to give him a bit more daylight early on to enable him to sit closer to the pace – didn’t really work, and he was very keen in horrible ground, so it was no wonder he didn’t get home. We won’t run him on that ground again, but will instead wait for some better going.’

His warm-up for Cheltenham came in a conditions race at Sandown and it was arguably the best performance of his career. Again travelling strongly, he was only beaten 3 lengths in a sprint finish by some classy runners; Peace And Co, Rayvin Black and Connetable are all Graded/Listed winners.

Despite those excellent performances Kayf Blanco sneaks into the County Hurdle off bottom weight. The strong pace should suits this strong traveller, as will the better ground.

At 50/1 (BetVictor) he is a terrific each-way bet with 1/4 odds for a top-5 finish.