Sir Gino can put down Cheltenham Festival marker
COLLISION COURSE: Sir Gino is set to face The New Lion at Cheltenham on Saturday. Picture: Healy Racing
With Fairyhouse falling foul of the weather, all eyes will on Cheltenham on Saturday as the Prestbury Park venue hosts Festival Trials Day.
Even before Fairyhouse was rained off — the meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 3 — the mouthwatering clash between leading Champion Hurdle contenders Sir Gino and The New Lion in the Grade Two Unibet Hurdle was always going to be this weekend’s headline act.
It’s a big day for both horses but especially The New Lion after his fall at the second last flight in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in November. He was still in front when coming to grief that day and, while we’ll never know for sure what might have happened from there, the suspicion is he’d have done enough to repeal Champion Hurdle heroine Golden Ace and Anzadam and maintain his unbeaten record.
However, the fact Golden Ace was subsequently put in her place by Sir Gino in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton at Christmas on his first stat for 364 days illustrates the scale of the challenge facing The New Lion on Saturday.
After his Newcastle mishap, one would imagine Dan Skelton’s first priority on Saturday will be a clear round and his second will be to get sufficiently close to Sir Gino to keep Champion Hurdle aspirations alive beyond this weekend.
Both targets look achievable but it’ll be a surprise if Sir Gino is turned over here.
It’ll be an even bigger shock if the Skelton-trained Grey Dawning is turned over in the Betfair Cotswold Chase.
An impressive winner of the Betfair Chase, if Grey Dawning is to be a realistic Gold Cup contender he has to be able to account for l’Homme Presse and Irish raiders Spillane’s Tower and Flooring Porter.
The Irish should, however, make their presence felt in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase with the Emmet Mullins-trained J’Arrive De L’Est fancied to avenge his defeat to Gavin Cromwell’s Final Orders over course and distance last month.
Sunday’s Irish fare comes from Naas, providing the Kildare track survives an early-morning inspection.
The Naas Racecourse Business Club Limestone Lad Hurdle, one of two Grade Threes on the card, shapes as an intriguing puzzle given Karbau, Farren Glory, and Workahead will all be making belated seasonal reappearances.
Of the trio, marginal preference is for the Willie Mullins-trained Karbau. He beat only the aforementioned Workahead home when 10th in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at last year’s Cheltenham Festival but ran far better when subsequently third in an Aintree Grade One and occupied the same position at the Punchestown festival on his most recent racetrack appearance last April.
He gets the verdict ahead of Farren Glory, a horse not seen since finishing third to Maxum in the Boyne Hurdle last February.
Blaze The Way can win the Finlay Ford At Naas Novice Chase, the other Grade Three on the card, for Mags Mullins.
The eight-year-old produced a career-best effort when beating L’Homme Presse by five lengths in a Cheltenham handicap chase last month.
Blaze The Way was getting lumps of weight off a horse making his first start for 300 days but it was still a fine effort from the winner and, providing he copes with the ground, he can follow-up.
Should conditions prove the selection’s undoing, Argento Boy looks best placed to cash in.
After a frustrating spell, Gavin Cromwell bounced back to form with a Gowran Park treble on Thyestes day on Thursday and Bridie’s Beau can give his trainer another winner by taking the finale, the Clinton Higgins Chartered Accountants Novice Handicap Chase.
Bridie’s Beau won at Clonmel at the start of December before going down by just a head to Soloman Lane at Navan 12 days later. This looks a good opportunity for the seven-year-old to get back to winning ways.
12:55 Mon Creuset
1:25 Karbou (Nap)
1:55 Newbrook Diamond
2:25 Matt Connor
2:55 Love Sign d’Aunou
3:25 Blaze The Way
3:55 Bridie’s Beau (NB)
12:55 Kai Lung
1:25 Farren Glory
1:55 Kilgame
2:25 Club Manager
2:55 Beechwood Road
3:25 Argento Boy
3:55 Mickie Angel
