Key weekend questions including what to expect from Angels Breath on his return to action?

What can we expect from Angels Breath after 1,121 days away?

Not sighted since winning the two-runner Grade 2 Jacquart Noel Novices’ Chase at Ascot on December 20 2019, the grey Angels Breath makes his long-awaited return to action in Kempton’s Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase on Saturday.

Still owned by ‘Walters Plant Hire & Ronnie Bartlett’ but under a new trainer having been switched from Nicky Henderson to Sam Thomas, the now nine-year-old was also this week given long-range entries into the Ryanair Chase and the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

In an interview with the Racing Post, Thomas reports the lightly-raced son of Shantou to have been “showing up well at home” and that he has managed to get plenty of work into the horse at his own South Glamorgan training base, rather than attempt any sort of racecourse gallop ahead of his belated reappearance.

Timeform, who have Angels Breath currently rated 150?, state he is “open to further improvement as a chaser” and it’s not hard to go along with that view having seemingly stepped up on what he’d achieved over hurdles previously when making it 2-2 over the larger obstacles at Ascot just over three years ago.

On pure form terms, however, it would appear he might be biting off a little more than he can chew first time back in this field, with four of his rivals – three of whom are already race-fit – rating higher on Timeform’s weight-adjusted figures.

They include impressive last-time-out winners Paint The Dream and Pic D’Orhy, the latter of which is proven over this course and distance having won the Grade 2 Pendil Novices’ Chase here last February.

Interestingly, Thomas is a trainer often referred to as a man well capable of readying horses after lay-offs, but the actual stats aren’t quite so encouraging. He operates at a 13.33% strike-rate (6-45) after more than 250 days off and 7.14% (1-14) after 400 days off. He is 0-3 with chasers having their first start for a year or more.

Is Green Glory the latest Byrnes handicap snip?

Whether it’s on the Flat or over jumps, few trainers strike fear into the layers quite like Charles Byrnes and will be fascinating to see just how low – or otherwise – the unexposed Green Glory is trading come off-time for the Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle.

After winning a 21-runner Punchestown bumper in good style last April, the son of Fame And Glory ran some promising races in maiden hurdles earlier season, including behind top-class prospects Three Card Brag and Sandor Clegane, really catching the eye with how he finished his race off on the latter occasion.

The almost inevitable plunge arrived when allotted an opening mark of 111 at Leopardstown over Christmas, the six-year-old going off the 7/4 favourite and duly scoring quite comfortably (replay below) under the trainer’s son Philip by a length from Spirit Of Legend, himself a Navan maiden winner.

Effectively running off a 16lb higher rating on his first start in the UK, he’ll need to build on that mark further if he’s going to stand any chance of making the cut for a handicap at the Cheltenham Festival in March and his 151p Timeform rating indicates the potential for further improvement.

Can champion trainer keep the novice hurdle ball rolling?

Having won the Grade 1 Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury on the final day of 2022 and last weekend’s top-class Tolworth at Sandown, it’s clear Paul Nicholls has a very good handle on the novice hurdle form in the UK this season.

This weekend the champion trainer looks to keep up the good work with unbeaten hurdler Knowsley Road in the Grade 2 Ballymore Leamington Novices’ Hurdle at Warwick.

Few National Hunt enthusiasts would be able to name Nicholls’ sole winner of this event since its inception in 2002 (Be Be King under Ruby Walsh for what it’s worth), which may lead some to believe he has a wretched record in the race.

However, Nicholls has only had one representative since taking top spot 17 years ago and that was the little-known Sensing Love who finished seventh at 16/1 in the 2021 edition won by Adrimel.

So it is clearly not a race the trainer looks to target but it’s equally significant that he’s happy to run Knowsley Road, a six-year-old son of Flemensfirth who readily won a Chepstow maiden in early-November before following up under a penalty in a novice event at the same track a month later.

Not a horse who does anything too quickly, Knowsley Road was kept up to his work to beat high-class Flat recruit Future Investment (well held in a Cheltenham maiden since) when last seen and he promises to be suited by the extra couple of furlongs on offer this Saturday.

He sets the benchmark on Timeform ratings (151p) but the official handicapper has Tom Lacey’s Ginny's Destiny a couple of pounds clear and that son of Yeats also has the benefit of previous Warwick experience having opened his hurdles account by defeating the reopposing Mexico (winner since) over this course and distance when last seen in November.

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