With under three weeks until The Festival 2010 gets underway, the countdown continues with the latest acceptors for the Grade One novice events revealed today.
The Festival always starts with a massive roar from the crowd when the tapes go up for the Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. A total of 66 horses remain engaged in the £100,000 contest, headed by Dunguib. Last year’s Weatherbys Champion Bumper hero has been perfect over hurdles so far in his career and looks sure to start one of the hottest favourites at The Festival on Tuesday, March 16. Timeform awards Dunguib a weight-adjusted rating of 166p, 5lb clear of his closest rivals Rite Of Passage, Menorah and Get Me Out Of Here.
Rite Of Passage, trained by Dermot Weld and third to Dunguib at The Festival last year, has the £100,000 Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle over two miles and five furlongs on Wednesday, March 17, as his principal target and the six-year-old is one of 69 acceptors for that event. With his weight-adjusted rating of 161p, Rite Of Passage is joint top-rated by Timeform along with Get Me Out Of Here, who convincingly defeated seasoned handicappers in the totesport Trophy at Newbury, and the smart Paul Nicholls-trained French import Najaf.
The championship contest for four-year-old hurdlers is the £100,000 JCB Triumph Hurdle on Friday, March 19, for which 51 contenders go forward. Timeform currently has two Irish-trained horses heading the ratings for the two-mile race, headed by Edward O’Grady’s recent impressive Grade Two scorer Alaivan on 164p. Alaivan was previously defeated by Carlito Brigante, trained by Gordon Elliott and second highest-rated by Timeform on 163p.
Also taking place on Friday, March 19, is the three-mile £100,000 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle. Among the 61 acceptors for this event are Najaf, top-rated by Timeform on 161, plus Tell Massini, a winner twice at Cheltenham already this season who currently has a rating of 159p.
In the chase division, there are 36 entries remaining in the £150,000 The Irish Independent Arkle Trophy over two miles on Tuesday, March 16. Timeform give Grade One Feltham Novices’ Chase victor Long Run a weight-adjusted rating of 170p in this event, 1lb ahead of 2008 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle scorer Captain Cee Bee on 169 with Sizing Europe on 168.
Long Run’s trainer, Nicky Henderson, has made no secret that the five-year-old’s much more likely target is the £150,000 RSA Chase on Wednesday, March 17. A total of 34 horses remain engaged in this event, with Timeform giving Long Run a weight-adjusted rating of 174p for this race, due to the 1lb allowance for five-year-olds. Nicky Henderson trains three of the top five rated horses with Timeform in the RSA Chase with Burton Port on 167p and Punchestowns on 165p.
