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Salver capitalises on Burdett Road withdrawal

Salver remained unbeaten over hurdles after a wide-margin Grade 2 Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle victory.

Gary Moore
Gary Moore Picture: PA

One man's loss is another man's gain and that was certainly the case at Chepstow this afternoon as the Gary Moore-trained Salver kept his unbeaten record over timber intact following a fine performance in the Grade 2 Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle.

Following a continued deluge of rain, current Triumph Hurdle favourite Burdett Road was announced a non-runner as the ground turned soft, leaving the race to change complexion considerably.

A reformed market saw Gary Moore's Salver jump to the head of the betting and victory never really looked in doubt for the three-year-old son of Motivator, as he breezed past market rivals Balboa and Harsh approaching the final flight. Jockey Caoilin Quinn barely had to shake the reigns for his mount to draw clear in impressive fashion and the winning margin was eventually 21 lengths with Balboa keeping on best for the runner-up spot.

Winning owner Keith Graves said of the 5/4 favourite: "I can't believe it. Gary said to have a look at this horse, and I bought it, it's three on the spin and he looks like he can go on.

"Jockey just said 'I think I could have gone faster' which is nice. It was a shame about the (forecast) favourite (Burdett Road, a non-runner) but you can only beat what's there and our paths will obviously cross in the future, so we'll see what happens."

Paddy Power introduced the winner at 16/1 for next year's Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.


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