Alexei Heads for Champion Hurdle After Workmanlike Kingwell Success at Wincanton

Wincanton passed its precautionary morning inspection on Valentine’s Day and hosted the BetMGM Kingwell Hurdle Day, one of the most important pre-Cheltenham fixtures on the Somerset calendar. The day’s feature, a Grade 2 hurdle with a long history as a Champion Hurdle trial, produced a legitimate Festival contender in Alexei, even if his display was more workmanlike than spectacular.

12:35, BetMGM Premier League Darts Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (Class 5, 0-105), 2m 5f 82y

**Winner:** Eton Mes, [as returned] / trainer
**Owner:** South West Rail Solutions Limited
**Breeder:** Morera Partnership

The opening race of the card went to Eton Mes, owned by South West Rail Solutions Limited, who won under the condition’s jockeys’ format in the moderate handicap hurdle. At The Oche, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, finished second. Charlies Jetaway completed the placings.

**7 ran. Winning time: 5m 52.37s (slow by 52.37s on Heavy ground). Tote Win: £3.50.**

The dramatic time difference from course standard, over 52 seconds slower, reflects just how testing the Wincanton surface was throughout the day. All subsequent winning times must be read in the context of genuinely arduous conditions.

1:35, BetMGM Kingwell Hurdle (Grade 2, GBB Race), 1m 7f 50y

**Winner:** Alexei (1/2F), Brendan Powell / Joe Tizzard, 1 length from Rubaud
**Going:** Heavy | **4 ran** | **Prize money:** 1st £41,608

The Grade 2 feature produced the day’s most significant result. Alexei, a six-year-old gelding rated 148, sent off at 1/2 for his trainer Joe Tizzard and ridden by Brendan Powell, proved he can perform to at least Grade 2 level following wins in the Greatwood Hurdle and a valuable prize at Ascot earlier this season. This was his first foray into non-handicap graded company.

Rubaud, the front-running Paul Nicholls eight-year-old who is a specialist at Wincanton, jumped off in front as expected. Powell tracked him through the mud and, despite Alexei briefly taking a long look at the final flight, jumped into the lead at the last and quickened to win by a length and a quarter. Rubaud, who has been a consistent performer at the track and loves the venue, kept finding on the run-in but was unable to peg back the winner.

Joe Tizzard said: “He’s a good traveller through a race. Whether he’s good enough [for the Champion Hurdle] we’ll find out. One thing he will do is travel into it and if he’s good enough, he’s good enough. Rubaud is a good yardstick, and he loves it round Wincanton, so I’m pleased.”

He added: “If you’d said to us in the autumn he was a Champion Hurdle horse, he was nowhere near it. But we’ve had a cracking season with him and we’ll roll the dice.”

The context of this race is amplified by the fact that last year’s winner of the Kingwell Hurdle, Golden Ace, went on to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. While Alexei is not at that level of public excitement, his progression through the season from the Greatwood to a Grade 2 success gives connections genuine reasons for optimism.

Further Races

The remaining card at Wincanton comprised handicap hurdles and handicap chases across a range of classes, all run on the same demanding Heavy going that had been a feature of the day’s feature race.

Meeting Summary

Wincanton’s Kingwell Hurdle Day provided a clean Champion Hurdle pointer in Alexei, whose win confirmed he is at least a plausible runner at the Festival even if his odds-on price in a four-horse field does not necessarily set the benchmark very high. The Heavy ground throughout was an important conditioning factor, and Alexei’s ability to handle it is a key piece of intelligence ahead of Cheltenham in March.