Sky Bet Supreme Trial Rossington Main Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2)

Off time: 14:05 | Winning time: 3m 46.9s

Mister Fisher²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: James Bowen| T: N J Henderson| OR: 142| D

4/5

Impressive winner at Kempton (2m, good to soft) on Boxing Day, beating a whole host of promising rivals which included Rouge Vif and Thomas Darby; the preferred choice of Nicky Henderson for this race (Angels Breath not declared); strong chance.

Form: 10-21

Bright Forecast²²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: David Bass| T: B Pauling| OR: 139| D

5/2

Unbeaten in two starts over hurdles for Ben Pauling, progressing from seeing off 19 other rivals in a Newbury maiden (2m, soft) to scoring well in novice company at Leicester (2m, good); clear potential, albeit further improvement is required.

Form: 3-11

Esprit Du Large³⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: Adam Wedge| T: Evan Williams| D

10/1

Raced keenly on debut in a Chepstow bumper in November but found a decent opening opportunity over hurdles when winning a 2m Uttoxeter maiden (soft) by 11L; the level of opposition is far more taxing today, yet this sharp track should suit.

Form: 71

Idee De Garde^t⁴⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: Harry Skelton| T: D Skelton| D

7/1

Ayr bumper winner for Nicky Richards 12-months ago and found only Champagne Platinum (a most stylish Newbury winner since) stronger on hurdles/stable debut at Newcastle (2m+, soft) in early December; place claims.

Form: 1-2

Muratello²⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: D A Jacob| T: N & W Twiston-Davies

16/1

Debut winner in France in the summer of 2018 (2m1f+, Rochefort-sur-loire) and also ran well on his final start for G.Macaire at Auteuil; his C&D UK/stable debut was curtailed by a void race during the festive period.

Form: 12V

Tricks And Trails³⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: T J O'Brien| T: A E Jones

100/1

Placed in a couple of Irish PTP's but has struggled at big prices in competitive novice hurdles on these shores; similar scenario anticipated; unlikely to prove at all competitive.

Form: P/32-85

Forecasts

Mister Fisher (4/5), Bright Forecast (5/2), Idee De Garde (7/1), Esprit Du Large (10/1), Muratello (16/1), Tricks And Trails (100/1)

Nicky Henderson has a fine crop of novice hurdlers and despite suffering a rare setback with Rathhill in the Tolworth Hurdle two weeks ago, it looks likely that he'll supply the winner of this Supreme Novices' Hurdle trial with MISTER FISHER. He is the preferred choice of his trainer (Angels Breath also held an entry at the five-day stage) and will almost certainly prove tough to beat if in the same kind of shape as when beating a whole host of promising rivals at Kempton on Boxing Day. His main danger is the upped in class Bright Forecast, with the Dan Skelton-trained Idee De Garde also worthy of a positive mention.