Marinero can make winning debut over fences

The classy Marinero can get his chasing career off to a winning start by taking the Porter & Co Beginners’ Chase on the opening day of Down Royal.

The Tony Martin-trained gelding developed into a very useful hurdler last season, a campaign which began when he inflicted the sole defeat to date to the very promising Long Dog.

He was far from disgraced when third behind Douvan on his first try in graded company and, despite having had a slipped saddle, was still very much in the mix when falling at the last in a Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle at Aintree on his penultimate start.