Spirit’s easy win

Our strong start to the year continued at Ludlow on Friday as the well-bred Hill Spirit won easily on his hurdling debut.

With the experience of three promising runs in bumpers and some solid schooling sessions behind him, the son of Teofilo was fancied to give a good account of himself on his hurdling debut and didn't disappoint.

Jumping fluently from an early stage, Hill Spirit was always well placed and seemingly enjoying the testing under foot conditions.

When Nick Schofield asked him to press on around the home turn the response was emphatic as the pair pulled well clear from their toiling rivals.

A couple of typically sound jumps over the last two hurdles sealed the race and an impressive hurdling debut for his delighted horse racing syndicate.

Hill Spirit and Nick received a warm welcome back into the winners enclosure where trainer Archie Watson was on hand to discuss the performance with owners.

Everyone was in agreement this was a perfect start over hurdles and that this well-bred, cheaply acquired four-year-old is a horse with a lot more to offer over hurdles.

Given his excellent Flat racing pedigree, it's quite possible we'll see Hill Spirit doing well on the level too in time.

However, following Hill Spirit's easy win at Ludlow, his immediate future is sure to remain over hurdles and it will be fascinating to see how he can progress on the back of this impressive performance.

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