Kabral Du Mathan makes Huntingdon splash for Nicholls

Festival date on the horizon after winning British bow.

Paul Nicholls’ Kabral Du Mathan looks to have a very bright future after he cruised to victory on his British debut in the Weatherbys Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle.

A winner in France on his only previous start, he had to carry 8lb more than all his rivals but it mattered not a jot.

There were four other previous winners in the race and one of those, Dan Skelton’s Kartoon And Co, led them until halfway down the back straight when he suddenly came under pressure and dropped to last.

Alan King’s Whispering Royal was the next to crack but by the second last, Harry Cobden had loomed up on Kabral Du Mathan (100-30) and breezed by Latin Verse to win by a length and a half.

Charlie Davies, assistant trainer, said: “It was a very pleasing performance. He has done everything nicely in Ditcheat. When they come over from France, you don’t know what to expect and we were very nervous about having to give all of them 8lb.

“He has jumped brilliantly, done it all very professionally and I think he has done it quite cosily. Hopefully he might be one for the Fred Winter (Boodles) in March.

“I think he is more a Fred Winter horse as to be a Triumph Hurdle horse you have got to be a really good horse, and you would have to take on Burdett Road, while Sir Gino looked very smart the other day.

“I think we will go the Fred Winter route for the time being. He has got to have one more run and maybe we will run him in a decent race and see how good he is.

“You couldn’t be more pleased with how it went as he travelled and jumped brilliantly. It was a very taking debut, giving them all 8lb.”

Ben Pauling was delighted to get Tellherthename’s career back on track with a straightforward success in the Arkle Finance EBF “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle.

Pauling has made no secret of the regard in which he holds the GBP 200,000 purchase but the wheels came off when upped to Grade One company at Aintree last time out.

Back down in class and following extensive tests, the five-year-old landed odds of 1-4 with the minimum of fuss under Kielan Woods.

“We are back on track. We turned a lot of stones to try to find out what happened at Aintree. We found a few little bits and bobs, but nothing that put us out for that long as you could see,” said Pauling.

“I was just keen to get his season back on track before we dwelt on it for too long. The ground there was soft enough and it is not the good to soft that they have advertised, but he has handled it very well. He is an unbelievably class horse.

“That now gives him his fourth run so he has got the option of the Betfair Hurdle, but the ground would have to be spot on for that otherwise we will go straight to the Supreme with him.

“I think he is a class horse with gears galore and I sometimes think they are best fresh. They go such a gallop in that race (Supreme) and if you are anything but absolutely ready for the day, then you might get caught flat-footed.”

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