Salver shines to give Moore another Finale success

Three-year-old stays unbeaten over hurdles at Chepstow.

Salver relished the gruelling conditions as he remained unbeaten over hurdles with a destructive display in the Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow.

An impressive winner at both Warwick and Exeter before having his sights raised for this Grade Two contest, he was made the 5-4 favourite in the hands of Caoilin Quinn following the late defection of ante-post Triumph Hurdle favourite Burdett Road on account of the deteriorating ground.

Gary Moore’s charge continued his trend of racing at the head of affairs as he disputed matters with Anthony Charlton’s Balboa, and on turning for home Salver’s class came to the fore as he took the lead three out and took off into the distance.

Balboa to his credit continued to plug on for second but Salver was in splendid isolation as he came home for an unchallenged 21-length success.

It was the second Grade Two of the season for fledgling jockey Quinn, while Moore was winning the race for the second time in three years, with Salver cut to 16-1 from 33s by Betfair for the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

“I can’t believe it and it’s unbelievable how it has happened,” said winning owner Keith Graves told Sky Sports Racing.

“Gary said have a look at this horse and I bought it and he’s won three on the spin and looks like he could go on.

“The jockey said ‘I think I could have gone faster’ which is nice. It’s been fantastic. I was involved with the Heart Of The South syndicate for six years and then I’ve been with Salver for two months and had three wins, so it’s unbelievable. It’s bigger than I imagined, fantastic.

“It’s a shame about the favourite, but you can only beat what’s in front of you. Our paths will cross in the future, but we will see what happens.”

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