Finale Juvenile Hurdle betting tips on Horsebetting.com have Adjali down as a worthy favourite to in the 2m Grade 1 contest at Chepstow on Thursday, 27 December. Quel Destin is well held on French form, but still feared most given what he’s achieved since. Averne remains in training across the Channel and is the only real alternative to consider for leading Irish owner JP McManus. Read further details below in our full 2018 Finale Juvenile Hurdle betting tips preview.Adjali appeals most for FinaleSimon Munir and Isaac Souede have owned two of the last four winners of the 2m Grade 1 Finale Juvenile Hurdle on Welsh Grand National day (13:35). Their two-tone green colours are sported in this year’s renewal by Adjali, who has some smart French form in the book.
This cross-Channel import is trained by Nicky Henderson, who connections teamed up with on last year’s winner We Have A Dream. Adjali placed second and third at Auteuil behind subsequent Grade 1 winner Beaumec Du Houelle either side of winning at Compiegne, where he gave 5lb and a 7 1/2 lengths beating to Quel Destin – who re-opposes in this.
He then left the care of Guillaume Macaire and joined Seven Barrows handler Henderson. Adjali mainly jumped well and made most on his UK debut at Market Rasen earlier this month, cruising clear for a 13 lengths victory over King D’argent.
As he was giving weight away to every horse except the runner-up, this was an authoritative display. It’s no surprise to see connections pitching Adjali in at the deep end off the back of that performance and he’s a nice prospect with a potentially big future ahead of him.
Although he’s gone down a different route to stable companion We Have A Dream, there is plenty of hype surrounding Adjali in his bid to follow-up. With Daryl Jacob again in the saddle, everything is in place for a big run and he’s thus our main selection in these 2018 Finale Juvenile Hurdle betting tips.Quel Destin still fearedAlthough he has work to do to reverse French form, Quel Destin has since won three of his four starts for Paul Nicholls including consecutive Grade 2s. He is thus the main danger to his old rival Adjali despite being relatively exposed.
This son of Muhtathir did also win before leaving Guy Cherel, but then improved past Montestrel, who was a length and a half to good for Quel Destin on British debut at Chepstow. He bounced back from that disappointment when bolting up by 12 lengths around Kempton next time out.
Quel Destin then took a step up into graded company in his stride when ridden past Cracker Factory and asserting close home in the Prestbury Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham’s November Meeting. He then followed-up again under a penalty in the Summit at Doncaster when scoring by a neck.
Those Grade 2 successes are the leading British form on offer, but tackling Adjali off level weights is a problem for Quel Destin. He was getting 5lb from the favourite when they last met, so there’s no reason on the revised terms why Henderson’s runner won’t confirm the form. For that reason, we side with Adjali over Quel Destin in our 2018 Finale Juvenile Hurdle betting tips.Averne the only alternativeLeading Irish owner JP McManus is represented by French raider Averne in this. Trained by Adrien Lacombe, this son of Doctor Dino comes to Chepstow off the back of a win last time out that saw him bought by his powerful new connections. That makes him the only real alternative in the small but select field of five.
Although he finished last on racecourse debut in a 1m 7f Flat maiden and then on hurdles bow at Nantes, Averne clearly improved for those two outings when winning at the third time of asking. It’s hard to say what the form of the conditions contest he landed at Auteuil is worth, but there was lots to like about the way he asserted in the closing stages.
McManus has left Averne with his current handler for now, despite his usual preference for bringing French bred types to British or Irish yards. Aidan Coleman now takes over in the saddle and is operating at a 20 per cent strike rate in the 14 days before Christmas.
Given his powerful connections, it would be no surprise to see Averne make his presence felt. With bookmakers only paying a couple of places and a quarter of the outright odds, he completes these 2018 Finale Juvenile Hurdle betting tips as a solid each-way bet.Your Next Bet
