Sky Bet Supreme Trial Rossington Main Novices' Hurdle |
 |
|
| Grade 2, Haydock Park 13:25 £80,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 128y, Class 1  |
||
|
||
Haydock on Saturday plays host to another key stepping stone on the road to Cheltenham, and this promises a fascinating clash of rising talent and established Festival hopefuls.
Hurricane Pat arrives on Merseyside with momentum firmly at his back. The five-year-old, trained by Gary and Josh Moore, has looked a natural over timber so far, dispatching his rivals in novice hurdles at Sandown with a blend of slick jumping and growing authority. Now he steps up into Grade Two company, with the Noel Fehily Racing team watching closely — already buoyed by the emergence of Baron Noir as a potential Supreme contender following his recent Kempton success.
“He’s got to come out and back up what he did at Sandown, as he looked very impressive there,” said Fehily.
“We could end up having two darts to fire at the Cheltenham Festival if this goes well after Baron Noir winning at Kempton. They are two very good horses and we’re glad to have them.
“Hurricane Pat is a horse who is getting stronger every time. We started the season with three novice hurdlers and two of them have turned out pretty good.”
Standing in his way could be Old Park Star, already prominent in Supreme Novices’ Hurdle betting and seeking to give Nicky Henderson yet another Rossington Main triumph. Henderson has lifted this prize twice in recent years and appears keen to add a third to the collection.
“He’s due to go to Haydock, that’s the plan. There’s lots of water to go under the bridge, but Old Park Star is definitely intended to go to Haydock.”
The supporting cast adds further depth. Jamie Snowden’s Listed-winning mare La Conquiere brings proven class, while Japetus arrives on a four-race winning streak for Nicky Richards, a horse thriving with racing and clearly on an upward curve.
A testing Haydock hurdle, a Cheltenham ticket potentially on the line, and a field rich with promise — it’s exactly the sort of Saturday contest that can shape the spring narrative.
Rossington Main Novices' Hurdle
(Grade 2)
£80,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 7f 144y, Class 1
12 entries
Going: Good to Soft, Soft in places
NO. FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 510-15 Crackerjacque 6 - Anthony Honeyball
2 9-3261 Great Fleet 6 - Dan Skelton
3 131-11 Hurricane Pat 6 - Gary & Josh Moore Caoilin Quinn
4 211-11 Japetus 5 - Nicky Richards
5 22-11 La Conquiere 7 - Jamie Snowden
6 2 Lord Byron 4 - Faye Bramley
7 F51 Minstrel Knight 5 - Edward Bethell
8 323-11 Old Park Star 6 - Nicky Henderson
9 2-312 Soldier Reeves 5 - Dan Skelton Tristan Durrell
10 13 Tashkhan 8 - Brian Ellison
11 44-113 Top Jimmy 6 - Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies
12 3 Wahraan 8 - Jessica Bedi Aaron Anderson
