Explained takes Folkestone honours20th November 2012
Tim Vaughan believes the future is bright for Explained after he inflicted a shock defeat on leading bumper horse Shutthefrontdoor at Folkestone.
The latter was unbeaten in three starts in National Hunt Flat races for Jonjo O'Neill last season, claiming Listed prizes at Ascot and Newbury, so it was no surprise to see him sent off a red-hot 1-4 favourite for his debut over obstacles.
However, he is going to have to smarten up his act quite considerably if he is to scale similar heights in this sphere, as he jumped and travelled lazily under Tony McCoy on his way to finishing a lacklustre third in the totequadpot EBF 'National Hunt' Maiden Hurdle. Explained (7-2), on the other hand, raced enthusiastically throughout at the head of affairs under Richard Johnson and had enough in hand after the final flight to hold off Phone Home by a length and a quarter.