Views from connections ahead Friday's action at Newbury

13:50 Coral John Francome Novices' Chase (Grade 2)

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It could be a key afternoon in the chasing career of Colonel Mustard as he bids to open his account up against Paul Nicholls’ Hermes Allen in the Coral John Francome Novices’ Chase.

Lorna Fowler’s eight-year-old has come close to big-race success on raiding missions from Ireland in the past, most notably finishing third to State Man in the County Hurdle in 2022, while also picking up a silver medal in both the Morebattle Hurdle and Scottish Champion Hurdle earlier this year.

The most consistent of operators, he has finished outside the podium positions on only three occasions in 17 career starts.

However, he arrives in Berkshire for Grade Two action still a maiden over fences having bumped into some of the best novices around in Ireland, including at Down Royal on his seasonal debut, where Gordon Elliott’s Found A Fifty proved too good in a race where plenty of the obstacles were omitted.

“He’s in great form and I was very happy with him going into Down Royal,” explained Fowler.

“He was never going to beat that winner, but it was a very unsatisfactory race with so many of the jumps taken out. It not so much didn’t give me as many answers as I wanted, but more so the race I wanted to give him some experience. The run physically will have brought him and I think Newbury will suit him a lot.

“He does need to find his rhythm with his jumping and that will be key. I know it’s a pretty good race, but he is a classy horse and if he can pull himself together and get his jumping OK, then I think we’ve definitely got a chance.”

It will be just the third time Colonel Mustard has raced beyond the minimum two miles, but Fowler is confident a trip is now what he needs to put his best foot forward and break his fences duck at the fourth time of asking.

“I think the two and a half is important to him and I do think he stays,” she continued. “He has tried the trip twice and circumstances wouldn’t have seen him in his best light in both. Rachael (Blackmore) rode him at Down Royal and she seems to think he will stay and I’m very confident he will also.

“In terms of D-Day, he is going to have to produce it over fences, otherwise we are lucky to be able to go back over hurdles. I feel like he hasn’t had his best shot over fences yet, but it does need to happen otherwise we will be back over hurdles.”

Standing in Colonel Mustard’s way is Hermes Allen, with the Grade One scorer returning to the scene of his Challow Hurdle success as he starts life over the larger obstacles.

Although failing to make his mark at the spring festivals, he is tipped for big things over fences and his handler is keen to get him on course after a slight setback pushed back his original start date.

“We planned to start him over fences earlier this season until a minor foot issue put paid to that, but he is fine now and he will have benefitted from a racecourse gallop with Complete Unknown at Newbury early last week,” Nicholls told Betfair.

“Hermes Allen had a wind op in the summer and his schooling over fences at home has been very good, but given the time he lost, I’m sure we can get him fitter. I’m sure he can improve on whatever he does on Friday. He was a star for us last season with an impressive success in the Grade One Challow Hurdle at this course and could be exciting over fences.”

Sarah Humphrey is not a familiar name on the big days, but Nickle Back could put her name in lights if building on his two wide-margin victories over fences to date.

Humphrey said: “For a small yard to have a potentially top-class horse, it’s very exciting and a big deal for us.

“He was always going to be a chaser, but things didn’t go to plan for his novice hurdling year and then last season we were on a recovery mission from something else, but he was always going to be a chaser and the plan was always to go chasing, so I’m glad it has worked out so far.

“It’s all very well the handicapper giving him a high rating and obviously he has won his first two (chase outings) easily, but it’s a big step up in grade and class and the quality of horses he is against, so we will find a lot more about him.”

Marble Sands, trained in partnership by David Killahena and Graeme McPherson, was not disgraced in Graded contests over hurdles last term and impressed at Ayr on his chasing bow.

Nicky Henderson’s No Ordinary Joe was runner-up to Iroko at the Cheltenham Festival and with the form of that Martin Pipe working out extremely well, he also merits respect on his debut over fences.

Emma Lavelle’s Tightenourbelts completes the field following a taking 10-length romp on his introduction to the larger obstacles at Ludlow.

15:00 Coral Long Distance Hurdle (Grade 2)

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The Middleham Park Racing team expect to have a clearer idea about Marie’s Rock’s potential ambitions for the rest of the season after she takes on two staying stalwarts in the Coral Long Distance Hurdle.

Nicky Henderson’s mare claimed back-to-back Grade One wins at the Cheltenham and Punchestown festivals in the spring of 2022 and made a triumphant return from eight months out of action when beating the boys in the Relkeel Hurdle at Prestbury Park on New Year’s Day.

By racing manager Tom Palin’s own admission, the decision to run in the Mares’ Hurdle rather than the Stayers’ Hurdle on her return to Cheltenham in March did not pay off, with Marie’s Rock finishing a well-beaten seventh behind Honeysuckle.

But with the eight-year-old subsequently proving her worth over three miles when runner-up to Sire Du Berlais at Aintree, there is no doubt about which route she is pursuing this term.

“It’s great to get her out a month and a bit sooner than we were able to last year and she seems in great form with herself,” said Palin.

“She went to Newbury last Tuesday, which was a good away day for her as she is quite excitable, and it just helped to burn off some of that freshness and excitement. We’ve had this race in mind since Aintree and she’s not missed a day. Her schooling at home has been excellent, her work at home has been excellent and we couldn’t be happier with her coming into this.

“She’s fit enough to do herself justice. Obviously she’ll come on for it after 230 days off the racetrack, but that’s going to be the same for anyone who hasn’t had a race.”

Marie’s Rock is set to face two veterans of the division in Paisley Park and Dashel Drasher – but while Palin is respectful of both, he is more than happy to take them on.

He added: “It’s kind of over to us now, isn’t it? We’ve got the established servants of the staying division in dear old Paisley Park and Dashel Drasher, who we know quite well as we’ve taken him on twice and come out the right side on both occasions.

“Both horses deserve the utmost respect, but the division is kind of crying out for a slightly younger gun to have their moment in the sun and Marie’s Rock seems the likely candidate at this stage. Whether that’s still the case at 3.08pm on Friday, we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m hugely excited about running her in this race, as are the team, and it should firmly establish where we are in the British staying pecking order.”

It is four years since Paisley Park struck gold in the Long Distance Hurdle and he has been placed in each of the three runnings since.

Emma Lavelle’s pride and joy is clearly in the twilight of his career at the age of 11, but the Wiltshire-based trainer is pleased with what she has seen at home in recent weeks.

She said: “He has just been such a star and is loving his training. He looks great and he went to Newbury for the press morning and had a lovely time just having a gallop round.

“He seems in really good shape but the proof is always in the running, so we will get him out and we will go and see what happens. He’s showing at home that he is loving what he is doing and we have had a good preparation. He schooled really well on Tuesday and was tanking along, so hopefully we will get a feel as to where we are.

“There are going to be horses in there with younger legs, but he has a heart of a lion. He is unbelievable how he keeps turning up and he loves his routine. It’s very special to have him and we will just decide race by race where we go.”

Unlike his two main rivals, Jeremy Scott’s Dashel Drasher is race-fit, having finished a creditable third on his seasonal debut in the West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby four weeks ago.

Scott had hoped to run his stable star in last Saturday’s 1965 Chase at Ascot, but felt he would be unsuited by the drying ground over fences, so he instead sticks to the smaller obstacles in Berkshire.

Deborah Cole’s Flight Deck, the Paul Nicholls-trained Hugos New Horse and Mahons Glory from Patrick Neville’s yard complete the field.

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