Cheltenham Festival: Triumph favorite Lulamba cruises to impressive British Ascot debut for Nicky Henderson | Racing News

Lulamba lived up to the hype when he comfortably accounted for French import Mondo Man in the BetMGM Juvenile Hurdle at Ascot.

Nicky Henderson’s Game scored five lengths in a 16-runner contest at Auteuil on his racecourse debut, having been the subject of glowing reports since arriving at Seven Barrows.

Mondo Man was bought for €520,000 after showing plenty of ability on the Flat, notably finishing fifth in the French Derby and fourth behind Calandagan in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Gary and Josh Moore’s runner ran very free at the back early on, while Nico de Boinville got a comfortable seat on the Viyanni-watching Lulamba.

Caoilin Quinn allowed Mondo Man to make a move to the front three furlongs but Lulamba was always traveling well and the 4/5 favorite moved forward smoothly in the home straight before scoring by three and a half lengths.

The winner has been cut to 6/4 for Triumph Hurdle glory at Cheltenham by Betfair, Coral and Paddy Power.

Don’t take any chances continued strongly to upset hot favorite Kargese in the Grade Two BetMGM Mares’ Hurdle.

The Willie Mullins-trained Kargese made her first outing after completing a superb juvenile campaign by securing a second Grade One success at the Punchestown Festival last May.

However, the 2/5 market leader traveled sweetly under Paul Townend and looked set to prevail when he arrived to challenge Ooh Betty in the second last.

However, Take No Chances (13/2) had not read the script and produced a determined push to jump in front in the final flight before racing to beat Kargese by three-quarters of a length.

The Dan Skelton-trained winner posted a career best in wins and winning rider Kielan Woods praised her consistency, with her 15-race career yielding four previous wins as well as a number of placings.