This handicap hurdle will take place at Kempton Park on Saturday 14th January
Outlaw Peter is our top ante-post tip at 5/1
We've also backed Hermes Boy each-way at 16/1
Expired
Jack Quinlan riding Cobblers Dream (C, black/gold) clear the last to win The Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at Kempton Park. (Getty)
The big betting race on Saturday is the Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle. This lucrative contest was first run at Kempton Park back in 1978 and many classy horses have gone on to lift the prize, including future Grade One winners Make A Stand, Tiutchev, Saphir Du Rheu and Tea For Two.
We've taken a look through the ante-post betting for Saturday's Lanzarote and listed some key recurring trends, before picking out our best betting tips.
2023 Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle Odds
Name
Odds
Outlaw Peter
5/1
Green Glory
5/1
Captain Morgs
8/1
West Balboa
8/1
Petit Tonnerre
10/1
Dubrovnik Harry
10/1
Bar
12/1
2023 Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle Trends
15 of the last 15 winners had won around a right-handed track
14 of the last 15 winners had won either zero or one handicap hurdle
13 of the last 15 winners were six, seven or eight-years-old
13 of the last 15 winners carried 11-04 or less
13 of the last 15 winners had no more than nine previous starts over hurdles
12 of the last 15 winners returned an SP of 10/1 or shorter
11 of the last 15 winners were either a novice or a second-season hurdler
10 of the last 15 winners had won over a trip of at least 19-and-a-half-furlongs (3 of the other 5 having first start over further than 19 furlongs)
As is the common trend with most handicap hurdles in National Hunt racing, backing younger, unexposed hurdlers is the way to go in the Lanzarote. Only two of the last 15 winners were what you'd call older, exposed hurdlers and they returned SPs of 20/1 and 66/1 respectively, so finding horses who fit that profile are clearly hard to find.
There hasn't been an Irish runner in the Lanzarote since Tom Taffe's Finger Onthe Pulse finished 11th in 2007. Charles Byrnes has entered up Green Glory, who won a handicap off 111 at Leopardstown's Christmas Festival, but it would be a surprise if he ran considering the British handicapper has slapped Byrnes' novice with a rating of 127 - a figure that's six pounds higher than his revised mark in Ireland.
2023 Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle Tip 1 - Outlaw Peter
Only three of the past 15 winners have gone off at a price longer than 10/1, so looking towards the head of the betting seems like a sensible place to start and OUTLAW PETER has plenty going for him.
Paul Nicholls' charge opened his account over hurdles at the fourth time of asking last term, scoring over this course-and-distance on his final novice outing back in May. As that victory came after the season officially ended, Outlaw Peter was eligible to run in the Persian War Novices' Hurdle at Chepstow in October and Harry Cobden's mount ran a lovely race, finishing second to Accidental Rebel following a sustained fight to the finishing line.
Nicholls' seven-year-old put that narrow defeat behind him by romping to an easy victory in a novices' hurdle at Exeter when last seen back in November. Outlaw Peter will now make his handicap debut off what seems a highly workable mark of 130 and Nicholls - a three-time winner of the Lanzarote - seems to have laid the favourite out for this assignment.
Harry Cobden riding Outlaw Peter clear the last to win The Betway Novices' Hurdle at Exeter. (Getty)
2023 Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle Tip 2 - Hermes Boy
The Williams family have a strong affinity with the Lanzarote Hurdle. Nick Williams enjoyed a golden spell a decade ago, saddling the winner three times in the space of five years.
Since their split, Jane Williams has taken over the license and she's managed to win some big handicaps in recent years. Jane currently has her string in excellent form and I wouldn't be surprised to see HERMES BOY run well if he did sneak in at the bottom of the weights.
Williams' six-year-old secured some impressive performances as a novice last season, finishing a close second behind I Like To Move It on his hurdles debut before going on to win a decent race at Exeter. Hermes Boy was then backed into favouritism on his handicap debut at Sandown in January and seemed to be in with a chance turning for home, but the favourite couldn't find an extra gear after the last and only just managed to hang onto fourth.
Following a pipe-opener at Worcester on his reappearance, Hermes Boy has run very well in two competitive handicaps. David Noonan's mount placed fourth behind Mares' Hurdle contender Love Envoi at Sandown, before staying on to finish second over 20 furlongs at Uttoxeter, where he looked beaten turning for home.
That run on heavy ground came just two weeks ago, but Williams must be pleased with how Hermes Boy has come out of that race as Noonan has already been confirmed in the saddle. He could go well at a tempting each-way price.
Verdict
Outlaw Peter and Hermes Boy are our two against the field in this year's Lanzarote Hurdle.
2023 Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle Tip 1: Outlaw Peter Straight Win @5/1 at Coral - 15 Units
2023 Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle Tip 2: Hermes Boy Each-Way @16/1 at Coral - 5 Units
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