McCoy off to winning start

Well-backed Kazzene got Tony McCoy off to a perfect start at Kempton by landing a fascinating William Hill Juvenile Hurdle.

There were a host of interesting youngsters involved in a rapidly-changing event, with A Media Luz seeming to still be full of running until crashing out at the second-last.

Meanwhile Paul Nicholls’ Brampour, already backed for the Triumph Hurdle despite having only raced in France, pulled too hard and finished third.

McCoy’s mount was also a purchase from across the Channel. He needed quite a bit of pushing along but finished his race better than anything to score by a length and a half from Kuilsriver.

Kazzene (11-4) is around 12-1 for the Triumph now, and trainer David Pipe said: “He has plenty of scope for a four-year-old. He’s a bit of a character but has plenty of ability. He’ll need some more experience before Cheltenham so we’ll wait and see.”

Nicholls said of Brampour: “He jumped really well but they crawled for much of the way, which won’t have helped and he’ll come on for it.

“He was bought for the Triumph and I think we’ll find a little novice at somewhere like Taunton in three weeks’ time.”