The key players at the Sandown's Betfair Tingle Creek Festival and at Aintree
Tony McFadden looks ahead to Sandown's two-day Betfair Tingle Creek Festival and highlights the key entries.
Sandown's card on Friday is all about potential with a pair of Grade 2s, the Betfair Winter Novices' Hurdle and the Betfair Esher Novices' Chase, taking centre stage.
The novice hurdle has attracted 11 entries, including a couple of contenders in Bill Joyce and Kingston Pride who have the Timeform Large P to show that they are likely to improve significantly on the form they showed when making a successful start over hurdles in maiden/novice company.
Bill Joyce was well down the field in the Champion Bumper but it says a lot about the impression he had created when winning his two previous starts that he was sent off at 7/1 and third choice in the market at Cheltenham. Bill Joyce may have been found out at Cheltenham but looked a graded jumper in the making when scoring stylishly on his hurdling debut at Carlisle last month (replay below).
Kingston Pride was a beaten odds-on favourite on his bumper debut at Lingfield but that proved to be a strong piece of form as he chased home subsequent Aintree bumper winner Tripoli Flyer and was well clear of a useful subsequent winner in Castle Ivers. Kingston Pride didn't have to repeat that form to win an Exeter bumper and he also scored with plenty in hand on his hurdling debut at Uttoxeter last month.
Last year's Winter Novices' Hurdle winner Deafening Silence is among eight possibles for the Esher Novices' Chase after shaping well when third in a graduation chase at Haydock on his first start over fences. That promising effort behind two very smart and much more experienced rivals earned him Timeform's Horse In Focus Flag, identifying him as one likely to be of interest next time.
There are two potential chasing debutants in the line-up, including Welcom To Cartries whose trainer Paul Nicholls won this race last year with Stay Away Fay. Irish point winner Welcom To Cartries made a solid rather than spectacular start to his career under Rules over hurdles last season but is a chasing type on looks and is expected to do better over fences.
Britain's top chaser bidding for Tingle Creek double
Jonbon's Timeform rating of 172 marks him out as the highest-rated chaser based in Britain and he's the headline name in the feature Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown on Saturday.
Jonbon won the Tingle Creek last year, beating Edwardstone by two and three-quarter lengths, and he has warmed up for his title defence with a reappearance win in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham's November meeting, as was the case 12 months ago.
Jonbon had to work harder this time around but was ultimately well on top and going away again at the line to take his record under Rules to 15 wins and three seconds from 18 starts.
Boothill and Edwardstone, the pair who chased him home in the Shloer last month, are among the potential rivals, while Quilixios, the 2021 Triumph Hurdle winner who won the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase at Naas last month, is one of two entries from Ireland.
Potential clash between Britain and Ireland in Grade 1 novice chase
There's usually a small field in the Betfair Henry VIII Novices' Chase and that will be the case again this year as the race has attracted only six entries. It could be an informative affair, though, as L'Eau du Sud, trained by Dan Skelton, and Down Memory Lane, trained by Gordon Elliott, are among the highest-rated novice chasers we've seen so far this season.
Both earned Timeform's Horses In Focus Flag for impressive performances on their latest outing, with L'Eau du Sud bolting up in the Grade 2 Paddy Power Arkle Trial at Cheltenham (replay below) and Down Memory Lane posting a sparkling performance in a beginners' chase on his first start over fences at Navan.
Names to note elsewhere
The two-and-a-half-mile beginners' chase at Aintree on Saturday features some promising sorts, including Timeform's highest-rated novice hurdler in Britain last season, Jango Baie. That reflects to some extent the paucity of quality novice hurdlers in Britain, though Jango Baie is very much one to be positive about following his first season of racing.
Jango Baie won the Grade 1 Formby Novices' Hurdle at Aintree but earned his peak Timeform rating of 148p for his hugely eye-catching effort when runner-up on his handicap debut back at Aintree during the Grand National Festival. He met significant interference after the second-last flight but produced an extraordinary burst to make significant headway up the run-in, identifying himself as an exciting prospect.
James Owen has dominated juvenile hurdles so far this season, sending out ten winners from 16 runners. The pick of the performers is East India Dock, whose Timeform rating of 138p is the highest achieved in the division so far, and he is one of three entered by Owen in the listed juvenile hurdle.
There could be a high-quality edition of the Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon on Sunday as the race has attracted Haldon Gold Cup eye-catcher Djelo, couple of very smart sorts in Ga Law and Ginny's Destiny and a top-class chaser on his day in Protektorat.
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