Balding strikes at Kempton

Andrew Balding has a small team of five jumpers to go to war with this winter and got his 2008 National Hunt season off to a great start as Show Winner collected at Kempton.

The five-year-old had been plying his trade on the Flat during the summer and opened his account over timber at the second time of asking in the Book Kempton Tickets On 0844 5793008 Novices’ Hurdle.

Darren O’Dwyer kicked for home rounding the final bend on the 10-1 shot, and he kept on best of all to hold the challenge of 5-4 favourite Michael Flips – who made a mistake at the second-last – by two lengths.

Balding said: “It was a hot race he ran in first time at Cheltenham, but he stayed on and jumped well so I was reasonably confident we could take the race to them today.

“A flat track and a good gallop suits him down to the ground, and hopefully he can win a nice handicap at some point.”