Rubaud makes all for Kempton Listed race hat-trick

Rubaud led from start to finish to win the CopyBet Hurdle at Kempton for the third year in succession.

The Paul Nicholls-trained seven-year-old landed this Listed prize in 2023 and 2024 before following up in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton the following month on both occasions.

Last season he switched to the larger obstacles from Christmas onwards and won the Grade Two Pendil Novices’ Chase at this track in February, but having subsequently struggled in Grade Ones at Aintree and Punchestown, he reverted to hurdles for his seasonal return.

A well-backed 10-11 favourite in the hands of Harry Cobden, Rubaud was sent straight to the lead and he found plenty once challenged by his chief market rival Burdett Road to prevail by a length.

Nicholls told Racing TV: “He’s a fantastic horse and of all the times he’s run, I thought today he might need it a little bit because I did have it in the back of my mind that he could perhaps go for a £100,000 chase at Ascot or even the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter in three weeks’ time after today, (but) if he won today we could perhaps go for the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton.

“We’ve got the chase to look at on Friday, November 7 at Exeter (Haldon Gold Cup) or we look at the Elite Hurdle on the Saturday, but I’d say if the ground stayed decent – good or even good to firm – we might look at the Elite Hurdle again because he’s so good over hurdles.

“He’s a Grade Two hurdler. We tried him in a couple of Grade Ones before and we know where we are with that and at chasing he was brilliant, so you’ve got lots of options with him.

“He’s a lovely, genuine, tough horse who I know is better than today.”

One Horse Town completed his hat-trick in the Daily Profit Boost At CopyBet Juvenile Hurdle.

Placed in two Flat starts for Joseph O’Brien before moving across the Irish Sea, the three-year-old also picked up minor honours in his first three outings for Harry Derham before breaking his duck on the level on the all-weather at Kempton in March.

He has taken his game to another level since pursuing a career over obstacles, scoring by 29 lengths at Hexham and 14 lengths at Stratford and it was a similar story in Sunbury as he passed the post with 10 lengths in hand under Paul O’Brien as a 1-6 favourite.

Derham said: “We were thinking about the Wensleydale (Juvenile Hurdle at Wetherby) in two weeks’ time or Cheltenham two weeks after that, so I said to my assistant Charlie the other day, ‘find a Flat race for One Horse Town, just to have a spin round’ as I thought it would do him good.

“Then I was entries tracking and I thought if he’s ready to run in a Flat race, he could canter round there. You haven’t learnt anything but the idea is winning races and he’s done that really nicely.

“I was sort of prepping for either the Wensleydale or Cheltenham and I wanted to give him a bit of a prep race and this was perfect. Paul said he just enjoyed that – he was a bit quirky on the Flat but just loves jumping and he’s a proper early-season juvenile.”