Upset as Absolute Steel, a 200-1 underdog, beats 4-9 favorite – jockey remains unfazed

The Tom Lacey-trained five-year-old was the rank outsider for the 2m2½f novice hurdle, having been beaten by a combined total of 111 lengths in his first two starts. Absolute Steel had finished last on his debut in a Market Rasen bumper and only managed to beat one rival on his hurdles debut at Chepstow in December. Despite these underwhelming performances, Absolute Steel surprised everyone by winning the race under Stan Sheppard.

He veered left and right approaching most of the hurdles but managed to deny the odds-on favorite Lowry’s Bar by a length and a half, with a Betfair SP of 813-1. Stan Sheppard commented that he did not think Absolute Steel was as bad as his previous run at Chepstow, and he was relatively happy enough with the performance at Market Rasen. Daryl Jacob, who had ridden Betfair Hurdle favorite Ocastle Des Mottes to an eighth-place finish, found success with Fun Fun Fun, beating Grade 1 second Favour And Fortune by half a length.

Fun Fun Fun, ridden by Jack Quinlan, secured her first victory since scoring at Newbury in November 2022. Racing Post offers were also highlighted at the end of the text.