Some bookies have gone as short as 25/1 following 16 length victory
Ian Williams’ three-time winner on the flat, has been cut for the Cheltenham Festival in March following an easy victory at Ludlow. The Zoffany gelding made light work of his rivals to pull 16l clear under soft conditions.
The form of the race is tough to quantify at this early stage of the season but some bookmakers were suitably impressed by the performance to cut the three-year-old into as short as 25/1 (best price 40/1) for the Triumph Hurdle.
Hard-held, wins easily. The Statesman slams his rivals on juvenile hurdling debut for @ianwilliamsraci
— Racing UK (@Racing_UK) October 11, 2017
Results https://t.co/7iJOPsdIyZ pic.twitter.com/GCmgXuK3mw
The current market leader is Nicky Henderson’s Apple’s Shakira at 16/1, a horse the trainer described as ‘gorgeous’ when talking to the Racing Post last month. In fact, since the start of September, over 50% of all bets on the market have been for the favourite, with recent Stratford winner Gumball second most popular pick at 33/1 for Philip Hobbs.
Oddschecker spokesperson George Elek: "The Statesman caught the eye in his easy victory at Ludlow, but it still comes as something of a surprise to see him priced up as short as 25/1 for the Triumph. With plenty of twists and turns to come before March it would take a leap of faith to invest in him now."
