This weekend another five victories were recorded by the offspring of Kayf Tara, headed by Ballyandy’s superb win in the competitive G3 Betfair Hurdle at Newbury. Triumphant in last season’s G1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival, Ballyandy has now won five of his 10 starts and prior to Saturday’s win was most recently runner-up in the G2 Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown.
A quickfire Newbury double was sealed by Final Nudge, who posted his second win on the bounce and seventh of his career in the novice chase that followed the day’s feature race.
Earlier in the day, the seven-year-old Rons Dream gained more black type when winning the Listed OLBG Mares’ Hurdle at Warwick. She too is a consistent scorer, having won six races, including another Listed hurdle back in November 2015.
Poppy Kay brought up the quartet of Saturday wins when running home the 10-length victor of the handicap hurdle at Uttoxeter. A bumper winner on debut, the seven-year-old has also won a novice hurdle from just five racecourse appearances.
The following day, the game campaigner Tea For Two followed up his excellent fourth in the G1 King George VI Chase on Boxing Day by winning the Graduation Chase at Exeter by 17 lengths. His eight victories include the G1 Kauto Star Novices Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day 2015.
The late King’s Theatre still heads the jumps table by prize-money, with Kayf Tara, the sire of nine stakes winners this season, in third position not far behind Presenting.