ZYN RENDLESHAM HURDLE - PREVIEW & TIPS

2:05 HAYDOCK
ZYN RENDLESHAM HURDLE (GRADE 2) (GBB RACE)

A key staying-hurdle trial where Haydock’s long straight and soft ground expose any weakness in stamina or fluency.

THE RENDLESHAM - PREVIEW

The Rendlesham has become Haydock’s mid-winter reference point for staying hurdlers, a Grade 2 that often tells you as much about a horse’s resilience as its raw ability. Since the race moved north, the combination of a flat, galloping track and usually demanding February ground has made it a proper test of sustained rhythm rather than a contest for speed merchants. It sits neatly as a stepping stone towards the Stayers’ Hurdle and it tends to reward horses who can keep doing the same thing well for a long time.

This year’s renewal has an interesting shape for a six-runner field because there are contrasting profiles. Kabral Du Mathan brings an upward curve and a new distance question, Beauport offers proven stamina with a clear reason to forgive his latest effort, while French Ship and Lud’or are improving handicappers trying to prove their ceiling. If Beauport is ridden positively, as his profile suggests, it can turn into a searching stamina examination from a long way out, which is exactly the scenario that can make a short-priced improver work for it.

THE RENDLESHAM - RUNNER BY RUNNER GUIDE

A progressive horse who has moved up a level since joining Dan Skelton, with a wind operation appearing to have unlocked a cleaner, more sustained way of racing. He travelled and won with authority in a 2m3f handicap here on reappearance, then followed up in the Relkeel at Cheltenham, again looking a horse who had more to give than the bare margin. The big issue is not class, it is the new demand. This step up to three miles asks for a different type of energy distribution, especially on ground that will not allow him to coast. He shapes like a horse who might stay and Haydock is a logical place to try it, but this is still his first attempt and he must prove he can jump and travel with the same fluency once stamina becomes the deciding factor late.

An experienced staying hurdler who arrives off a wide-margin handicap success at Sandown over an intermediate trip on soft ground, where everything came together and he saw it out strongly. That win shows he is in good shape, but it also highlights the jump he faces here. A Grade 2 at Haydock over a true three miles places more emphasis on sustained class through the final mile, not just staying on past handicap opposition. Tactically he is likely to be ridden with a little patience, looking to pick up pieces if others fail to see it out. The worry is that he can be vulnerable if the principals keep increasing the pressure from a long way out, because this demands not only stamina but the ability to hold a position when the tempo is set by stronger, higher-rated stayers.

A proven stayer whose best work comes when the emphasis is on endurance and rhythm and he is very much one of those horses who can make a race feel uncomfortable for others. His third in the Long Walk at Ascot last season reads well in this context and his second in this race last year is direct evidence that Haydock and the Rendlesham test suit him. The pulled-up effort in the latest Long Walk is the blot, but it is also the kind of run you can forgive in a horse whose strengths are built around sustained pressure and confidence at his obstacles. The subsequent breathing operation offers a plausible explanation and importantly, his overall profile suggests he will be far happier in a flatter, more relentless staying test than in a race that can become tactical and speed-influenced. With a relatively light weight compared to the top two in the market and the likelihood of being ridden prominently, he has a very realistic path to turning this into the sort of stamina examination that plays to his strengths.

An improving hurdler who has shown he can cope with big fields and strong races, winning at Cheltenham in October before landing another competitive event at Newbury over 2m4f. Those wins point to a horse who is progressing in the right direction and he remains open to improvement now that he is operating in this sphere. The question is whether his best work is still centred around that 2m4f-2m5f range rather than a fully run three miles on deep ground. He was not seen to best effect in the Lanzarote at Kempton last time and that run does leave a slight doubt about how he responds when conditions demand constant effort rather than a clear rhythm. If he settles and jumps cleanly, he has the class to travel into it, but he must prove his stamina in the final half-mile where Haydock can be unforgiving.

A likeable, straightforward type who has improved for going up in trip and seems to relish getting into a rhythm, particularly when allowed to bowl along. His Bangor win on heavy ground was a significant marker because it showed he can sustain a gallop in testing conditions and his subsequent placed efforts in competitive handicaps suggest that improvement is holding. The step into Grade 2 company demands a clear career-best, especially against horses with proven staying form at a higher level, but there is at least a logic to him being suited by Haydock. The tactical question is where he sits. If Beauport ensures a genuine test from the front, Lud’or may be forced to go a stride quicker than ideal to hold his position and that could expose his class ceiling late.

A mare who has had her moments, including a Listed win at Doncaster over a similar trip and she tends to keep going honestly when she gets into a rhythm. However, her subsequent efforts in stronger company show the limitations and this looks a tough assignment even allowing for conditions that can sometimes compress a field. The likely pace scenario asks for horses who can keep jumping and sustaining the same effort for a long time and she is more reliant on others not performing to their level than on her own capacity to raise hers. She may travel for a while, but the finishing strength required here looks beyond her.

THE RENDLESHAM - FINAL THOUGHTS

The likely shape is a steadily increasing stamina test rather than a sprint. Beauport is the obvious horse to give it a proper staying emphasis and if he is positive early, it can become a race where fluency and stamina matter more than a neat turn of foot. That scenario also asks questions of the shorter-priced improvers, particularly Kabral Du Mathan, who has to prove he can reproduce his best while seeing out a new trip on ground that will not let him get away with any inefficiency.

Beauport is the selection because the race set-up looks favourable to his strengths and he brings the most convincing blend of proven stamina, suitability to Haydock and a tactical profile that can control the narrative. Kabral Du Mathan is the main danger on pure talent and upward momentum, but he must answer the three-mile question under testing conditions. French Ship is the other major threat, as the improving horse with the travelling power to land a blow, yet he also has to demonstrate that his finishing effort holds up when this becomes a fully-fledged staying contest.

The Rendlesham TIPS