Highland Crystal maintained her unbeaten streak as Gordon Elliott guided her to victory in the Coral ‘Daily Reward Shaker’ mare Juvenile Hurdle at Newbury. The three-year-old had previously won her debut race by 14 lengths at Punchestown earlier this month, marking her first competitive outing without prior experience in point-to-points or bumpers.
Despite not being favored initially at Listed level, Highland Crystal started slowly but gradually gained momentum under jockey Jordan Gainford, ultimately winning comfortably by six and a half lengths. Elliott commented, “She’s not flashy at home, so it’s tough to gauge exactly where we stand, but she’s a talented filly and we’re fortunate to have her.”
He added that they plan to keep her racing within her gender group for now, noting that her main strength seems to be stamina. “The early stages came a bit fast, and we haven’t been able to do much training recently. She was a bit inexperienced during the race but improved steadily, which is promising.”
Elliott also compared her to Wodoo, a previous race winner, saying, “Wodoo is more of a traditional chaser, whereas Highland Crystal seems to be a National Hunt flat horse with great stamina—that’s what really matters.” He noted the importance of finding suitable Listed races and hinted at monitoring her progress closely before deciding her future racing plans, suggesting she might not compete again until around Christmas.
Owner Brian Acheson expressed gratitude to those who discovered Highland Crystal, especially Robert, his son, and Margaret O’Toole for finding her at Arcana. He shared that after running in the Academy Hurdle at Punchestown, Gordon Elliott decided to bring her to Newbury, where she performed excellently. The filly had odds of 12-1 in the Filly Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham and 20-1 in the winning race at BetVictor.
Fan Take: Highland Crystal’s continued dominance highlights the excitement of emerging talent in National Hunt racing, offering fans a promising new star to follow. Her impressive performances at a young age could signal a bright future for the sport, inspiring optimism about the next generation of top jump racing horses.
