Jezki: three-time Grade 1 winner starts season at Down Royal

 PICTURE: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos, BY JESSICA LAMB 8:00AM 1 NOV 2013 

TONY McCOY will ride Jezki for the first time this afternoon in the Grade 2 WKD Hurdle (2.35) as he continues his quest for 4,000 winners and his mount begins a campaign aimed at the Stan James Champion Hurdle.

Down Royal hosts the return of a novice hurdler who last season won three Grade 1s and was beaten only by Champagne Fever and My Tent Or Yours in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

NO.  FORM		HORSE	AGE	WGT  OR	JOCKEY  TRAINER RTF%	TS	RPR	ODDS
111131-		JEZKI 192	5	11-10 161	A P McCoy Mrs John Harrington63	155	166	2/11
22/351-		COURTLY CONDUCT 309	8	11-2 118	Michael Darcy W M Roper	104	136	66
3514-21		FLAXEN FLARE b 68 (55F)	4	11-2 140	Davy Russell Gordon Elliott44	138	153	13/2
422292-		CAID DU BERLAIS 233	4	10-13 142	R Walsh Paul Nicholls55	146	154	13/2
5731213		MASSINI´S TRAP 19	4	10-9 134	D J Casey J A Nash20	125	150	33

But the 18-time champion – who needs nine winners to reach his 4,000 – will make his first trip to his local course since 2008 to ride the five-year-old, whose Champion Hurdle odds are no bigger than 10-1.

Trainer Jessica Harrington said: “All has gone to plan and we’re looking forward to getting him started. We know everyone has got to beat Hurricane Fly [in the Champion Hurdle] and we haven’t seen him yet, but The New One looked very impressive the other day too.

“There is a long way to go until Cheltenham, though. No horse has done anything wrong yet and you wouldn’t expect them to have with it being so early in the season.”

Jezki is set to go off the odds-on favourite, but Flaxen Flare and Caid Du Berlais, the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle first and second, are live dangers.

fonte: RacingPost