Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle report: Silver Streak floors Epatante

Adam Wedge took the winner to the front as the tapes went up and he was never see to another rival.

The reigning champion hurdler was sent off the 1/5 favourite and travelled and jumped well until flattening the third last.

She was never on an even keel again and between the final two flights, it was clear she was fighting a losing battle.

The Evan Williams-trained winner galloped resolutely to the line and went on to score by three lengths.

"He was as brave as a lion for me out there. Evan and I were talking about it all over Christmas and we thought we had one chance of beating Epatante, get out there and take the race by the scruff of the neck. Thankfully it worked," Wedge said.

"He's a fantastic horse for lovely owners and it's a great team effort to get him back here like this after a hard race at Cheltenham last time."

Williams, who was not at the Sunbury track, said: “There are lots of horses that people say deserve this and deserve that, but the reality is it is a tough old game and nobody deserves anything really – but that lad today, he is so genuine and because he is so genuine and tough he did deserve it.

“I was hoping he would be good enough one day, as I kept telling everybody, but to land it like he did does mean an awful lot to us really.

“The ground is a huge thing and I can’t overemphasise that. He has been running some very good races in defeat on ground which isn’t what he wants, but he goes out there and does his best on it, even though he is not getting the purchase he needs.

“I said to Adam, who was riding here after schooling on Christmas Eve, that I want to make the running in the Christmas Hurdle. I said I don’t want to be second or third in a Christmas Hurdle, that means nothing to me. We either go a good gallop and finish last or we roll the dice and get something out of it.

“I had no ambition to be second or third in a Christmas Hurdle, I wanted to win one and the only way I could see that was to ride him and go a very good gallop. I would say the jockey has played a blinder. I do think he is a Kempton horse and if you look at his form around Kempton, it is outstanding.

“Let’s not worry about the Cheltenham Festival or let’s not worry about anything else. He has won a Christmas Hurdle and if that is all we ever do and win a Grade One Christmas Hurdle with him then I’m a very proud man.”

Nicky Henderson said of Epatante: “I’ve had a chat with Aidan (Coleman). She scoped clean, her heart is clean and she blew for 20 minutes which is spot-on normal. Twenty minutes is right, 15 minutes you’ve done nothing and 25 minutes you are not fit.

“Aidan said he wasn’t getting the same feel he did off her at Newcastle. I don’t think that was the ground – it was just one of those things that happened. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her.

“She has been really well in herself, and her preparation has been completely perfect – for me anyway. We all thought everything was 100 per cent. Aidan just felt he wasn’t going well enough, because she is the sort of horse you can just ride along on the bridle and press the button and she goes.

“It just didn’t happen, and Aidan said it didn’t feel likely to happen. I’d say we will leave her until Cheltenham. There is something lurking there, but at the moment we only have a limited amount of tests. That wasn’t the Epatante we love on the day, but they are not machines.

“Whatever you do, you sometimes can’t explain these things. Aidan knows her well and he said he wasn’t getting the vibes.”

Coleman added: "I was quite happy until we got halfway down the back. She usually feels like a little rubber ball underneath you but even then that wow factor wasn't there today and that's how it played out.

"She ran OK and galloped to the line but I knew from six furlongs out that that burst of speed she usually has wasn't underneath me. Silver Streak is a super horse and had his day, we didn't."

Sky Bet cut the winner to 10/1 from 25s for the Unibet Champion Hurdle and are 7/4 from 5/4 about Epatante. Betfair and Paddy Power go 14/1 about Silver Streak and 11/4 Epatante.

Michael Shinners, Head of Sports PR at Sky Bet said: "Despite beating the odds on favourite there didn’t appear to be a fluke about it. We now go 10/1 from 20/1 for the Champion Hurdle and have eased out Epatante to 7/4."