Along faces Challow exam
Carl Llewellyn is looking for clues to see if Roll Along is Festival material as he steps up in class for an ultra-competitive renewal of the Ballymore Properties Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury tomorrow.
The five-year-old remains unbeaten in three bumpers and two starts over hurdles, doing little wrong in his outings at Cheltenham and Uttoxeter this season.
He was less impressive on the latter occasion nearly 50 day ago, getting home by a couple of lengths over the minimum distance, but Llewellyn expects to see improvement over two miles and five furlongs.
“He had a hard race at Uttoxeter, and it has taken him a while to recover,” said the master of Weathercock House.
“This is certainly his stiffest test so far and it will be his first time over the trip.
“His jockey Paul Moloney and the lads who ride him at home think he wants about two and a half miles and he’s a big, strong horse, so we’ll have to see.
“This race will certainly tell us if he’s good enough to be running in these sorts of races.”
Heading the opposition in the Grade One event is Sir Jimmy Shand, trained by Nicky Henderson, who has only tasted defeat once in five starts.
Kanpai, winner of his last seven races over timber, will be another leading contender and he again faces Massini’s Maguire, who he beat decisively at Chepstow earlier in the season.
Trainer John O’Shea is hopeful Kanpai can confirm the form but is aware the Challow offers a very searching examination.
“The horse is very well, but it’s a tough race,” said the Gloucestershire trainer. “Running him fairly often has worked well so far and he’s had a nice break before this. He seems fine, but if he doesn’t show his form, we can pull stumps with him.
“Although he’s had a lot of races, only one on the Flat at Goodwood and his last run at Haydock seem to have taken much out of him. If he runs well tomorrow, we’ll know where we are.”
O’Shea added: “I was in an open mind for this race. I would have thought he will not run again before Cheltenham and I had been looking at a race at Warwick in two weeks’ time.
“But you are not going to avoid these really good horses and he beat Massini’s Maguire well at Chepstow, so I hope he’s going to run a really good race.”
Massini’s Maguire seems to have improved since Chepstow having beaten another Newbury rival Wichita Lineman by half a length in a strong race at Cheltenham.
Last time, the five-year-old unseated at the eighth flight of a Grade Two race back at Prestbury Park three weeks ago.
Trainer Philip Hobbs’ assistant Johnson White said: “He’s in very good order and we have schooled him a couple of times since his little mishap at Cheltenham, where he paid the penalty for an unfortunate mistake, and everything seems right mentally with him.
“It’s too early to say where he would have finished that day and this is a very hot race, but we know he has ability from his previous run at Cheltenham.
The remaining three in opposition are not exactly backnumbers either and Alastair Charlton’s Rothbury, an impressive victor at Aintree last time, also takes his chance.
He will again be partnered by Czech jockey Jan Faltejsek, who was riding his first winner in Britain that day. Bob Buckler’s Mossville, second to Labelthou on his last start, and the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Battle Cry complete a formidable line-up.
