David Ord sets the scene as old favourites and rising stars look to grab the Saturday headlines.
No Sir Gino on Super Saturday then. An afternoon robbed of the sprinkling of Grade One stardust that promised to light it up.
He looked like he could win a Champion Hurdle when sweeping clear in the Fighting Fifth on his return, then screamed 'Arkle banker' as he routed Ballyburn on his chasing debut at Christmas.
But then the Kempton runner-up emerged as a real stayer at the DRF and that raised a little question over what the British flyer actually achieved that cold, December afternoon. And Majborough won the Irish Arkle in a way that saw his odds for Cheltenham cut, but there were different ways to interpret his jumping.
Team Mullins were happy, others felt he’ll need to have sharpened up significantly at Cheltenham.
But he’s had two runs over fences and Sir Gino only one. And after sustaining a small wound earlier in the week, connections are pondering a hike up in trip for the Pendil or a drive to Bangor at a time which Henderson clearly feels is uncomfortably close to Cheltenham, to complete his education.
His absence robs the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Game Spirit Chase of any potential X-Factor, but it’s still a deep race, and an intriguing one too.
It’s early days for JJ Slevin in his role as retained jockey for the Double Green. Things didn’t quite fall his way at the DRF but darting around the Berkshire circuit on Matata, and picking up the Game Spirit would keep things ticking over nicely.
Especially as he feels his thriving partner could even serve it up to Jonbon in five weeks’ time.
"He was very good in Windsor and he’s been a hard-knocking horse. He was a good novice last year and progressed away through handicaps in the autumn, so he’s on the upgrade," Slevin said.
“It’s strange, but the two-mile division is a bit like the sprinters on the Flat – there's not as big a jump between a really good two-mile handicapper and a Grade One horse, whereas in the three-mile division it is a big jump.
“He’s still a young horse who hasn’t done a lot wrong and I’d be excited about riding him in a Champion Chase.”
And it’s not as though Saturday is entirely devoid of Arkle clues either.
Over at Warwick Dan Skelton takes dead-aim at the Unibet Kingmaker Novices' Chase with L’Eau Du Sud.
He faces four rivals but only one serious threat in the shape of Rubaud. At the time of writing the Betfair Henry VIII winner is a 1/4 chance to come through his own pre-Festival prep with his unbeaten record over fences intact.
“Our lad is in good form and I haven’t got any negatives going into the race,” said Skelton.
“I did ringfence this race after Sandown as with it being at Warwick, I was mad keen to go there, so it is nice that we can."
L’Eau Du Sud will still be third favourite for the Arkle even if he wins impressively at the weekend, but his trainer feels when it comes to Cheltenham, the bookmakers have that one right.
“They are two Grade One-winning juveniles that he will be taking on in the Arkle, and Sir Gino won an open Grade One over hurdles in the Fighting Fifth,” he said.
“I think that they have every right to be ahead of us in the betting in the Arkle as they are Grade One-winning hurdlers and we are not. We’ve done everything asked of us over fences and we have done it handsomely. I’m quite happy to slip under the radar a little bit and that doesn’t worry me one bit.
“We have got the experience at Cheltenham under our belt, which is a positive, but those two are going to be hard to beat in the Arkle, but let’s get through Saturday first."
Paul Nicholls is hoping Rubaud can shake up L’Eau Du Sud but after a fall on his chasing debut behind Sir Gino at Kempton, a clear round is the priority.
“He took a tired fall at the last fence in the Wayward Lad at Kempton over Christmas where he was taking on two aeroplanes,” he told Betfair.
“He has done a lot of schooling since, jumped brilliantly at home on Thursday morning and has always shaped as if he would make a chaser. Life is hard for horses like Rubaud, with no beginners chases for him, so he might as well get some more experience at Warwick where drying ground will help.
The William Hill Denman Chase at Newbury commemorates one of the greats of the golden era for the Ditcheat maestro. He runs Bravemansgame on Saturday, a horse who briefly threatened to scale the sort of heights his predecessors soared, plus Hitman.
So who’s the Manor Farm number one? Pass, I’d say.
“Both of mine should run well in this given that they do not have to carry any penalties. Bravemansgame had two hard races earlier in the season and I don't think he was quite at his best in the King George VI Chase at Kempton where he paid the price for chasing the free-running Il Est Francais,” he added in his Betfair column.
“I've freshened him up since then, taken off the blinkers and am fitting a tongue tie at the suggestion of Harry Cobden. This looks an ideal race for his final start before the Grand National.
“Hitman is extremely consistent and so hard to place because he gets no help from the handicapper. He ran another cracker when an excellent second under top weight at Ascot last time.
“Hitman has finished second in this race for the last two years and arguably ran a career best chasing home Shiskin 12 months ago. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see him go close again.”
No Sir Gino, but still plenty of interest on Saturday. It might not be as Super as it once was, but it should still make for compelling viewing.
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