Equinties - Epatante target

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A quiet start to the week racing/news wise, welcomed given how much racing there was on last weekend.

Let’s dive in.

Headline Roundup

HWPA and HRI awards 

Yesterday marked the annual awards lunch/evening for both the HWPA and HRI jurisdictions with all the top presenters, journalists, trainers and jockeys in attendance.  

From the HWPA side of things, Nick Luck took home two awards, one for Reporter Of The Year and another for Broadcaster Of The Year, Charlie Appleby was crowned champion Flat trainer for the second year in a row, and the Racing Post’s Peter Thomas was named Racing Writer of the Year. 

As for the HRI awards, Honeysuckle was crowned Horse of the Year for the second year in a row, awkward timing given the awards followed the weekend she was beaten for the first time ever. The National Hunt Award went to her trainer Henry de Bromhead, and Sam Ewing came out of the day with the Emerging Talent award in his arms. 

It’s always nice to have an ‘end of year’ reflection in any chosen field, and whilst this news may not affect your lives, these people and horses make the sport we love and no doubt means a lot to them.

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Staying on top? 

Sunday’s Grade 1 Hatton’s Grace successor, TEAHUPOO, may be campaigned down the Stayers’ Hurdle route, according to his trainer Gordon Elliott.  

Having beaten the wonder mare HONEYSUCKLE at massive odds of 20/1 on the weekend, Elliott’s five-year-old is as big as 12/1 for the Grade 1 event at Cheltenham in March with the likes of KLASSICAL DREAM, a horse he beat two days ago, BLAZING KHAL, and FLOORING PORTER ahead of him in the market. 

He told the Racing Post yesterday: "I'm thinking of stepping Teahupoo up in trip rather than going back to two miles so I'd say the Stayers' Hurdle is definitely an option for him. He wasn't stopping on Sunday over two and a half miles anyway. 

"We're still learning about Teahupoo. He was very good last year on soft ground and we ran him on good ground a couple of times which was probably a mistake." 

Would he be a Stayers Hurdle candidate in your eyes? 

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EPATANTE back out? 

EPATANTE was a surprising entry for the Grade 2 International Hurdle at Cheltenham yesterday as she heads a field of eight for the 2m1f contest. 

The former Champion Hurdle winner ran only 10 days ago in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth where she was soundly put away by CONSTITUTION HILL and trainer Nicky Henderson has decided to enter her for this weekend – last month’s Greatwood Hurdle victor I LIKE TO MOVE IT and the recent Grade 2 Elite Hurdle winner KNAPPERS HILL are the next best in the market. 

Whether she actually turns up to the race on Saturday is another question but Frank Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus said: “I haven’t spoken to Nicky today, but he’s made an entry for her in Cheltenham, so he’ll see how she is during the week and take it from there.” 

Elsewhere on the day at Cheltenham, the form of HERMES ALLEN’s Cheltenham win could be tested out for the first time as WEVEALLBEENCAUGHT, third to the Paul Nicholls star in November, has been entered for the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle over three miles. 

And finally, MONMIRAL has an entry for one of the earlier races on the card, the 2m4f Novices’ hurdle at 2:40, as he looks to bounce back from his seven-length loss to JONBON at Warwick lto. 

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