Kelso first, Cheltenham next? – Ante-post tip for Saturday’s Morebattle Hurdle

Morebattle Hurdle Day is the highlight of the racing calendar up at Kelso and the £120,000 handicap hurdle should be a competitive affair. There’s an added incentive here as any horse who goes on to win the race and follows up at the Cheltenham Festival would win £100,000.

Nicky Henderson has won two of the last nine renewals of the Morebattle and his potential runner would be well set to follow up at Cheltenham. A general 10-1 chance for next month’s County Hurdle, she could be one to watch. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

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2.50 Kelso (Saturday)

Under Control is a rapidly improving mare who progressed nicely in the spring last season. She won a Grade 3 at Cheltenham in April and followed that up by getting the better of stablemate Iberico Lord in a good race at Sandown. That horse has well and truly boosted the form since by winning both the Greatwood at Cheltenham in November and the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury earlier this month.

Henderson’s five-year-old put in a career best effort when splitting Grade 1 winners Ashroe Diamond and Gala Marceau in a graded hurdle at Doncaster last time out. Reverting to handicaps off a mark of 138 here, she could be significantly better than that.

Her participation is likely to hinge on the ground conditions which are currently good to soft. If the course can maintain something similar to that, Henderson’s mare may well take her chance. The forecast appears to be reasonably positive and she is very clearly the one to beat.

Cheltenham will obviously be a much harder challenge and she would have a 5lb penalty to carry. That being said, she has the potential to be a 150+ horse and would have every chance next month if that is the case.

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