3.40 Sedgefield
Umadachar 5/1
Warren Greatrex makes the rare 500+ mile round trip up to Sedgefield with a couple of runners today which should both go very close to winning but the one I think represents excellent value at 5/1 is his 5 year old mare Umadachar who makes her handicap debut over hurdles off a mark of 114 which I think she looks to have been given a pretty lenient opening mark by the handicapper. Making her debut a little over a year ago, Umadachar developed into a really useful horse in bumpers winning at Folkestone on her 2nd start before placing in two large field Listed Bumpers in March and April of last year before taking the summer off to presumably strengthen up. On the back of 7 month absence, Umadachar was a little disappointing on her hurdling debut when beaten 20L over 2m at Towcester back in November but she clearly benefited greatly from the run, the experience and the step up to an extended 2m6f when scoring 12 days later. Held up in the rear of the field by Noel Fehily, Umadachar had to be niggled at various stages of the contest and had to be driven by Noel Fehily heading around the home turn but despite hanging left a bit she asserted late on to score by 0.75L with the front two drawing well clear of the remainder. The form of that race is difficult to decipher as the runner up Floral Spinner has finished runner up to two useful types on her only subsequent starts but I think it will turn out to be pretty useful form in due course. Umadachar's only subsequent start came at the end of December over 2m4f at Fontwell when a well supported favourite but she finished more than 30L behind the front two in finishing 3rd and I am sure this wasn't her true running. In very heavy ground that saw half the field pulled up, Dougie Costello never looked happy on her from an early stage and I'd be inclined to put a line through that effort.
Strictly on her hurdles win to date, 114 seems about right as to what she has achieved over timber but I think there is an awful lot more to come from this 5 year old based on her excellent bumper form. Given that she looks like she races a bit lazily at times, I'm very happy to see first time cheekpieces applied for this Mares Handicap Hurdle and if they help her concentrate and stay interested at her job at hand then I think they could bring out significant improvement from her. A P McCoy, who has a fantastic 7-12 record when teaming up with Greatrex, takes the ride and his booking clearly signifies that connections are expecting a very big run. Moreover, Umadachar seems exactly the sort of horse who would excel under a McCoy drive and I think the pair will make a very formidable partnership. With regards to tomorrows contest, I would be lying if I said I would have greatly preferred if the trip was a little bit longer than 2m4f but I can't imagine her trainer bringing her on such a long journey if he felt she wouldn't handle it. Of the opposition, the couple of recent winners Vinetta and Sparkling Hand should run well but the latter is turned out under a penalty after scoring 10 days ago whilst the latter should face competition for the lead after having an easy enough time of things when scoring over C+D last month and I think Umadachar's unexposed nature could see her improve past them. The other fascinating runner in the field is Donald McCain's fellow handicap debutant My Flora who has some very strong Hunter Chase form in the book but she hasn't looked at home over hurdles to date so I couldn't have her. Warren Greatrex has hit top form in the past week with 3 winners and he boasts a 1-2 record at the track which represents a long travel for the Lambourn trainer. With ground conditions to suit, if the cheekpieces perk up Umadachar I'm confident that McCoy can get an excellent tune out of her and hopefully can steer her to a 2nd success over hurdles.
