Lulamba lived up to the hype when comfortably accounting for French import Mondo Man in the BetMGM Juvenile Hurdle at Ascot.
Nicky Henderson’s charge won by five lengths in a 16-runner race at Auteuil on his racecourse debut after being the subject of glowing reports following his arrival at Seven Barrows.
Mondo Man was bought for €520,000 after showing great ability on the Flat, notably finishing fifth in the French Derby and fourth behind Calandagaan in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The runner of Gary and Josh Moore ran very freely at the back early on, while Nico de Boinville took a comfortable position with Lulamba following Viyani.
Caoilin Quinn allowed Mondo Man three strides ahead, but Lulamba was always traveling well and the 4/5 favorite led smoothly in the straight before being three-and-a-half furlong clear.
The winner has been cut to 6/4 for Triumph Hurdle glory at Cheltenham by Betfair, Coral and Paddy Power.
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Winning rider Nico de Boinville believes there is still huge improvement to be made from Triumph Hurdle favorite Lulamba after success on her British debut at Ascot.
Take no chances continued to pace hot favorite Kargese in the Grade Two BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle.
Trained by Willie Mullins, Kargese was making his first outing since completing an excellent juvenile campaign, securing a maiden Grade Two success at the Punchestown Festival last May.
However, the 2/5 market leader was traveling sweetly under Paul Townend and looked all set to win when cruising to challenge Oh Betty from the second last.
Take No Chances (left) holds off favorite Kargese in the BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle at Ascot
Take No Chances (13/2) hadn’t read the script, though, and he charged decisively to the front in the final jump before the game battle to beat Kargese by three-quarters of a length.
The Dan Skelton-trained winner was posting the best performance of his career with the win, with winning jockey Keelan Woods praising his consistency as his 15-race career has produced four previous wins as well as a number of placings.
