Catching Pigeons: Wrong is right | All the whispers from the training centres ahead of Saturday's action
Our Catching Pigeons column is back with all the latest gossip from the training centres ahead of Sandown and Wolverhampton on Saturday.
Nicky Henderson can warm up for Cheltenham with a big race double courtesy of Indian Hawk and Whatswrongwithyou at Sandown on Saturday.
Indian Hawk put his season back on track with an emphatic win last time, and he should want plenty of beating in the European Breeders' Fund Matchbook Novices' Handicap Hurdle Final.
There were great hopes for this French import when he made an impressive British debut at Ludlow just after the new year, but they were left in a totally different frame of mind when he flopped at Doncaster three weeks later.
The heavy defeat was put down partly to the trip, and he certainly looked back to his best when scooting up at Warwick in his warm up for this race last month. the feature of that performance and the Ludlow success, was a series of very quick accurate jumps, and if he brings that athleticism to the table for this ultra competitive heat, he should play a big part in the finish.
Whatswrongwithyou is just preferred to Highway One O One in the Matchbook Imperial Cup.
Henderson has soft spot for this race after steering Acquaint to victory as an amateur back before the book of Genesis went into print and is also be hoping course winner Call Me Lord can run a big race under his big weight.
Whatswrongwithyou gets a valuable 13lb from that rival however, and now that he has started to settle much better in his races, looks a horse on quite a steep uphill curve.
Having been less than fully amenable on his comeback when second to the smart Ainchea here in January, he has won both his subsequent races at Newbury in good style.
The form of his win over OK Corral, another highly rated Seven Barrows inmate, looks particularly solid, and his work in his preparation for this handicap debut, suggests he has improved.
Morning Reggie won this race 12 months ago and looks to have a lively each-way chance this time around in the Commission Free Racing At Matchbook Handicap Chase.
Only lightly-raced this season, he has had his share of woes, but has undergone an operation on his breathing since his last disappointing run, and looks worth an interest off only a 2lb higher mark than 12 months ago, now that the Oliver Sherwood team is back in very good form after a very quiet Winter.
There is a set of stocks just outside Lambourn, which usually welcomes anyone brave enough to mention the Flat turf season before Cheltenham is even under way, but reports have leaked out from Newmarket that William Haggas' team is quite nicely forward in readiness for the new campaign later this month and he can land a big race brace at Wolverhampton just to underline the point.
Original Choice showed he came to hand early enough with a comeback win on this course just under a year ago, and he is strongly fancied to land the sunbets.co.uk Lincoln Trial. The four-year-old went on to perform consistently in a relatively light campaign, and he looks the type to progress during the course of the next few weeks.
He has been working very well, and it will be interesting to see whether he heads to Doncaster for the Lincoln meeting after flexing his muscles here.
Second Thought ended a very successful 2017 campaign with a win over the useful Keystroke at Kempton in November, and he should be straight enough to follow up with another Listed success in the Lady Wulfruna Stakes.
All four of his successes last term came on the all weather surfaces, but he also managed a very good second to star sprinter Harry Angel in a Group 2 at Haydock and he is another sure to build on those performances this year.
Although he is held by Salateen at these weights on a line through Keystroke, he has the more scope for improvement and should be able to concede 3lb to his David O'Meara-trained rival.
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