Gibralfaro Ascot enhances Cheltenham claims Gibralfaro enhanced his claims towards a possible tilt at the Triumph Hurdle after maintaining his unbeaten record over hurdles in the Ascot Supporting Our Local Community Juvenile Hurdle. While forced to do it the hard way from the front, the Alan King-trained four-year-old showed a willing resolve to follow up his debut win at Kempton. Although the Paul Nicholls-trained Connetable loomed up as a serious-looking threat approaching the last the 4-5 favourite, despite not having the assistance of the rails, pulled out more than enough to claim a length-and-three-quarter success. The winner was left unchanged at 14-1 by Coral for the JCB-sponsored Triumph Hurdle, while both Paddy Power and Boylesports trimmed him into 14-1 and 12-1 respectively. King said: "That was good. We kept it simple. He would not be a natural front-runner, but as there was no pace we thought we would pop out. He will have learnt plenty from that. "He will want another run somewhere. I would like to go to Kempton, but it's only two and half weeks until Cheltenham. The Adonis is a possibility, while he could possibly go for the Victor Ludorum if we don't run Sceau Royal in that."
