Exciting Regent’s Stroll Impresses On Hurdle Bow

All eyes were on Regent’s Stroll (5g Walk In The Park – Pretty Puttens, by Snurge) at Newbury on Friday as Paul Nicholls’ unbeaten sales-topper made his hurdling debut.

The son of Walk In The Park made it two from two when drawing clear in a valuable bumper in March, and after owner Chris Giles decided to disperse his stock, became the highest-priced national hunt horse to sell at auction, when bringing £660,000 from his trainer and Tom Malone.

He was, unsurprisingly, sent off a short-priced favourite for the two-mile maiden hurdle and raced prominently throughout under Harry Cobden. Shaken up before the final flight, he skipped clear on the run-in to score by nine and a half lengths. Good And Clever (Soldier Of Fortune) claimed runners-up honours, seven lengths clear of the remainder.

“Regent’s Stroll has a lot of pace and I'd say he'll stay too,” said Nicholls. “It's a long way off making any plans with him. I need to get some experience into him, but ultimately he'll make a lovely chaser one day. I was going to run him in the Challow, but we'll see what happens as he's not short of speed. He's got loads of scope and he's a big unit.”

Bred by Mrs Rita Kent, Regent’s Stroll is now owned by Alex Ferguson, Mason, Hales, Hogarth and Smith. He had previously sold for £175,000 as a three-year-old.