John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Sunday.
Iberico Lord weighted to repeat 2023 Greatwood success
No horse has ever won the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle (15:30) twice but 2023 winner Iberico Lord looks well enough weighted to have a good chance of becoming the first to do so. The Greatwood wasn’t his only big handicap success in the 2023/24 season as he went on to win the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury as well which earned him a crack at the Champion Hurdle, though that was the Festival when Nicky Henderson’s runners were under a cloud.
While Iberico Lord’s 2024/25 campaign began with a successful debut over fences, he fell on his next start and then disappointed subsequently when put back over hurdles, including when going for a repeat win at Newbury and when trailing home at the Punchestown Festival.
But that means that Iberico Lord has slipped back to an appealing mark and he heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings here. With his yard also beginning to hit top form, he therefore makes plenty of appeal and all the recent rain won’t harm his chances either given his win here two years ago came on heavy ground.
Jordans Cross to follow up for ‘Hot Trainer’
Anthony Honeyball has had his string in good form in recent weeks, earning him the ‘Hot Trainer’ flag, and landed a good prize last weekend in the Badger Beers Handicap Chase at Wincanton with Gustavian.
The Dorset trainer has two runners in the novices’ handicap chase at Cheltenham (13:45), with Ben Godfrey’s mount Jordans Cross looking the pick of the stable’s pair. The five-year-old has only had four starts all told and showed a good attitude when getting off the mark over hurdles at the first time of asking at Southwell last December. After only one more run over hurdles, Jordans Cross looked a good prospect when making light of a ten-month absence to make a successful debut over fences in a novices’ handicap at Aintree three weeks ago.
After briefly getting outpaced, Jordans Cross picked up really well from a fairly unpromising position to lead at the last before pulling two and a half lengths clear of Spadestep on the run to the line. Looking one to follow, Jordans Cross earned the ‘Horses In Focus’ flag for that effort, while he heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings here with the ‘p’ symbol denoting further improvement to come. The step up in trip is likely to suit and his Southwell win last year shows he handles soft ground.
Time to catch Beauport fresh again
The Oddschecker Handicap Chase (14:55) looks an open race but with Protektorat, last seen chasing Jonbon home in the Melling Chase at Aintree, running off top weight from a BHA mark of 165, that means the bottom three in the weights are out of the handicap. This is a rare run in handicap company for Protektorat, and while he was once third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, all his recent runs have been over much shorter trips.
This stamina test is sure to suit last season’s Midlands Grand National runner-up Tanganyika but he might find the 2024 winner of the Uttoxeter race Beauport a bit too strong, he too making his reappearance here. Beauport has a good record fresh and made a successful seasonal reappearance for the second time in his career when returning with a wide-margin win in the Berkshire National at Ascot around this time last year. Improved jumping was a feature of Beauport’s performances last season, and after a couple of runs over hurdles to protect his handicap mark, he ran well for a long way in the Grand National before weakening to finish twelfth after doing too much too soon.
Beauport returns on a handy-looking mark, heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings, while Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies have the ‘Hot Trainer’ flag. With conditions to suit, he should again prove hard to beat first time out.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
