View from connections and Man On The Spot tip for Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury
Get the view from connections and Man On The Spot tip for Friday's Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury.
View from connections:
Emma Lavelle is feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement ahead of Paisley Park's return to action in the Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle.
The seven-year-old was the dominant force in the division last season - enjoying an unbeaten campaign which began with a relatively low-key win at Aintree and ended with him claiming Cheltenham Festival glory in the Stayers' Hurdle.
Unheralded heading into last term, Paisley Park makes his reappearance at Newbury on Friday as one of the stars of the sport - a fact which is not lost on his trainer.
"We're excited to get him started. Obviously there's a fair amount of trepidation as you don't want to get him beaten, but this is the first step of the season and he's ready to run - you can't keep drilling them at home forever," she said.
Paisley Park will face four rivals in the three-mile Grade Two, including three previous winners of the race in Thistlecrack (2015), Beer Goggles (2017) and dual victor Unowhatimeanharry (2016 and 2018).
Lavelle insists she could not be happier with her stable star.
"I'm really happy with him. We've done as much as we can do with him at home and he's been to Newbury twice. I'm not saying he's not going to improve for the run - obviously March is the key date," the Marlborough-based trainer added.
"He's up against some smart horses and with the way the ground is, the horses that have had a run probably have an advantage.
"For us it's about getting some match practice and we'll take it one step at a time."
The field is completed by Tom George's The Worlds End, who is clashing with the Harry Fry-trained Unowhatimeanharry for the second time this term, having finished first and second respectively in the bet365 West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby four weeks ago.
The Worlds End's triumph prompted connections to keep him over hurdles, rather than send him back over fences.
George said of his charge: "He won really nicely at Wetherby. He had a lot of issues over the summer that we have put right. He was good at what he did at Wetherby, so we thought we would stick to that.
"He has schooled OK over fences, but he didn't really sparkle. We thought if we got that wrong it could set him back a bit, so the safest route was to stick with him over hurdles, which we know he really enjoys.
"As a novice he won a Grade One, but he had that bad fall at Cheltenham before that. He didn't run badly in the Stayers' Hurdle the next season, but he wasn't where he is now.
"He is very bullish about it all and is pain free and that is probably helping him. We've got a run under our belt and though we maybe facing an impossible task up against Paisley Park, we will see where we are."
Man On the Spot
Thistlecrack won this in 2015 and Beer Goggles two years ago. Unowhatimeanharry is bidding for a third victory in five years so has to be respected. He was beaten five lengths by a back-to-form The Worlds End in a Grade 2 at Wetherby at the start of the month but is now 6lb better off with the winner. PAISLEY PARK carried all before him last season, winning the Long Walk Hurdle, the Cleeve Hurdle and the Stayers’ Hurdle after a couple of victories in competitive handicaps. He’ll be all the better for this run but looks a cut above everything in the stayers division at present.
Exciting novices set to clash
Champ and Black Op will lock horns for the Ladbrokes 'Where The Nation Plays' Novices' Chase at Newbury on Friday.
The former, trained by Nicky Henderson, made a winning debut over fences on this course last month, while Black Op got off the mark over the bigger obstacles at Stratford four weeks ago.
Black Op had two runs over fences last winter, being placed behind Lostintranslation and Defi Du Seuil, before finishing off the campaign over hurdles.
Connections felt they were not able to get enough schooling into Black Op, but the subsequent exploits of those two showed he still ran to a high level of form.
Trainer Tom George reports things have gone much smoother so far this season.
"He is in good form and everything has gone right since Stratford. Last season over fences we couldn't get all the schooling done with him. We didn't have a good run at it at all," said the Slad handler ahead of the Grade Two affair.
"As it transpired the races that he did run in he was beaten by good horses, as he was beaten a few lengths by Defi Du Seuil at Exeter and five or six lengths by Lostintranslation at Cheltenham when he wasn't jumping very well.
"He worked really nicely on Monday and has been schooling very well. We've just got to keep it the same and if we do there is a lot to look forward to."
George added: "Lots of people have put plenty of work in to him. Johnny Burke has been on him, he has been to Henrietta Knight's and he has schooled a lot at home.
"Touch wood he seems to have got the hang of it at the moment and hopefully he continues that way."
Deyrann De Carjac has won both his starts over fences, at Cartmel in the spring and Huntingdon four weeks ago.
His trainer Alan King feels the six-year-old will not be out of place in this better company.
"Deyrann De Carjac was very impressive when winning an above-average novice chase at Huntingdon earlier this month," the Barbury Castle trainer told www.alankingracing.co.uk.
"He jumped accurately and the runner-up has since won at Ascot, so that form looks solid.
"This is another step up in class, but he is a horse I like a lot and he schooled well on Monday. Fences seem to have made a man of him, but I hope we don't get any more rain."
Jeremy Scott's Dashel Drasher, who was runner-up to Champ at Newbury, the Colin Tizzard-trained Vision Des Flos and Paul Nicholls' Mont Des Avaloirs make up the six-strong field.
He's running off his highest mark, but I think he'll go well
Amy Murphy feels Kalashnikov has improved for his reappearance at Aintree and is expecting a bold show in the Get Your Ladbrokes £1 Free Bet Today Handicap Chase.
Winner of the Grade One Manifesto Novices' Chase at Aintree in April, the six-year-old was second to Forest Bihan on his return there five weeks ago.
"He's in good form. I'm pleased with him at home and looking forward to running him. He's running off his highest mark, but I think he'll go well," said Murphy.
"He'll have come on for his run at Aintree."
Azzerti has gone up 4lb for his victory over this course and distance three weeks ago - but King does not consider that to be harsh.
"I was very encouraged by his recent win over the course and distance, and he seems to have grown up since last season," he said.
"He was better behaved in the preliminaries than previously and jumped super, too.
"I thought the second was coming to head him up the run-in, but it was good to see him dig in and shrug off the challenge, sticking his head out and finding extra.
"I hope this stronger race does not come too soon and he has only gone up 4lb, so fingers crossed he can again be competitive."
The Henderson-trained O O Seven shares top-weight of 11st 12lb with Kalashnikov in a competitive 12-runner heat.
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