Pipe strikes in Haydock opener
Nous Voila revelled in the testing conditions when making all the running to land an impressive victory in the Anglo Irish Bank Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock Park.
Timmy Murphy set a modest pace on the 7-4 shot, trained by Martin Pipe, in the early stages before upping the tempo in the final mile.
The five-year-old galloped on too strongly for his rivals and went on to win by by 12 lengths from Livingonaknifedge, although Percussionist was a big disappointment and could only finish a well-beaten third.
Murphy said: “He handled the testing ground better than any of the others. We hope he doesn’t go up too much in the handicap. There are plenty of prizes for horses who handle conditions like this.”
Pipe’s representative Bob Hodge added: “He’s done it really well. He handled the ground no problem at all. I think today it’s going to be the horses that handle it best.
“The rest of them were struggling from a long way out.
“He seems a progressive sort and hopefully he’ll continue in the winning vein.”
Ladbrokes cut Nous Voila to 10-1 from 20-1 for the totesport Trophy and quote him at 12-1 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
