13:30 Cheltenham

Tuesday 12 March 2019

All13:3014:1014:5015:3016:1016:5017:30

Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1)

Off time: 13:32 | Winning time: 3m 59.56s

Al Dancer²⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: Sam Twiston-Davies| T: N & W Twiston-Davies| OR: 152| C| D

9/2

Unbeaten in four starts over hurdles progressing rapidly from race to race; striking 3¾L winner of the Grade 3 Betfair Handicap Hurdle at Ascot (2m, good to soft) last month; regular headgear (hood) not declared - will wear ear plugs instead.

Form: 14-1111

Angels Breath¹⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: N de Boinville| T: N J Henderson| OR: 150| BF| D

6/1

Chosen in preference to stablemate Mister Fisher by today's rider Nico de Boinville; 1-2 over hurdles, beating the Paul Nicholls-trained Danny Kirwan by a ready 4½L on debut in the Grade 2 Kennel Gate at Ascot (1m7½f, soft) in December.

Form: 1-12

Aramon³⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: Paul Townend| T: W P Mullins| OR: 154| D

8/1

Ex-German Flat racer; has flourished over hurdles since winning a 2m4f Kilbeggan maiden (good) in August 2018; beat stablemate Sancta Simona by 10L in a Grade 1 at Leopardstown (2m) in December; closely matched with Klassical Dream.

Form: 121312

Beaufort West³⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: R M Power| T: C L Tizzard| OR: 129| BF

66/1

Lightly-raced but remains a maiden and it's very difficult to envisage that changing in Grade 1 company; no problem with soft ground - beaten just under 2L by Winston C at Sandown (2m) in February; lesser fancied stablemate of Elixir De Nutz.

Form: 2-9462

Brandon Castle^h,t¹⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 11-7| J: Bryony Frost| T: N B King| OR: 139| D

25/1

Vastly experienced on the Flat (7-43); sprung a surprise on hurdles/stable debut at Plumpton (2m, soft) when beating Collooney; has backed that up with a further pair of Plumpton victories since (3-3); now tackling much sterner opposition.

Form: 111

Felix Desjy⁵⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: Sean Flanagan| T: G Elliott| OR: 147| D

11/1

Stablemate of Vision D'honneur; disappointing since a demolition job at Galway (2m, maiden) in October until getting back on track more latterly; authoritative 5L winner (made all) of the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer at Punchestown (good) in January.

Form: 5-17521

Grand Sancy^h²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: H Cobden| T: P F Nicholls| OR: 152| D

14/1

Never involved when pulled up in the 2018 Fred Winter; has shown improvement this season (4-7), notching a career best with a game ¾L win in Wincanton's Grade 2 Kingwell Hurdle; similar claims to Elixir De Nutz; possibly sharpest on a flat track.

Form: 211421

Itchy Feet¹¹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: G Sheehan| T: O Murphy| OR: 142| D

25/1

Yet to finish outside of the first two places in five career starts (2-3 over hurdles) but equally hasn't competed on ground softer than good; held (beaten 1¼L) by Elixir De Nutz on C&D form from November; stablemate of Thomas Darby.

Form: 2-1112

Klassical Dream³⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: Ruby Walsh| T: W P Mullins| OR: 154| D

6/1

Resolute ex-French racer; 2-2 for Willie Mullins (who boasts an excellent record in this race); edged out stablemate Aramon (Vision D'honneur third) when taking the Grade 1 Chanelle Pharma Novices' Hurdle at Leopardstown six-weeks ago; key player.

Form: 324P-11

Mister Fisher⁵²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: James Bowen| T: N J Henderson| OR: 145| D

14/1

Only a short-head away from an unblemished record over hurdles (2-3); beat a couple of today's rivals and the subsequent Kelso Premier Hurdle winner Rouge Vif when scoring readily at Kempton (2m, good to soft) on Boxing Day; Grade 2 winner since.

Form: 10-211

Normal Norman¹⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: P J Brennan| T: J Ryan| OR: 128| D

100/1

Has plenty of experience over hurdles (2-6) with both wins coming on a sound surface (Market Rasen & Musselburgh); finished a well beaten third in the Grade 2 Dovecote Novices' Hurdle at Kempton (2m, good) latest; masses to find with Angels Breath.

Form: 212713

The Big Bite⁷⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: N D Fehily| T: T R George| OR: 145| D

25/1

Finished 11th of 23 in the 2018 Champion Bumper; kicked off his hurdling career with a couple of low-key wins at Chepstow (good to soft) and Haydock (heavy); made mistakes when coming up short behind Mister Fisher at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Form: 1/10-114

The Flying Sofa¹⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: J E Moore| T: G & J Moore| OR: 126| BF

125/1

Fontwell bumper winner (2m1½f, good to soft) who was well beaten here in the 2018 Champion Bumper - finished 20th of 23 to Relegate; 0-3 over hurdles and readily brushed aside at short odds in a Plumpton maiden latest; likely to struggle.

Form: 310-322

Thomas Darby⁵²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: R Johnson| T: O Murphy| OR: 140| CD

28/1

Ultra-consistent over hurdles, kicking off the season with a C&D maiden win (beat Elixir De Nutz by 3¼L). However, appears to be held by today's rival Mister Fisher based upon Kempton Boxing Day form; the better fancied stablemate of Itchy Feet.

Form: 11231

Vision D'Honneur^t1³⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: Jack Kennedy| T: G Elliott| OR: 147| D

12/1

Cost €350,000; bounced back from a debut Leopardstown hurdles defeat to easily take a big-field Punchestown maiden (2m, good); came up short in Grade 1 company latest when beaten by the Mullins-duo Klassical Dream and Aramon; tongue-tie now applied.

Form: 1-413

Fakir D'Oudairies⁴⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 10-13| J: J J Slevin| T: J P O'Brien| OR: 150| C| D

9/2

Takes up this engagement in preference to the Triumph Hurdle and receives an 8lb 4yo's allowance; 2-2 over timber for Joseph O'Brien; very much looked the part when storming to victory in the Grade 2 Finesse Hurdle here (New Course) in January.

Form: 264F11

Non-Runners

Elixir De Nutz⁶⁶

Weight: 11-7| Age: 5

T: C L Tizzard J: Non Runner

Tokay Dokey¹⁷

Weight: 11-7| Age: 5

T: D Skelton J: Harry Skelton

Forecasts

Fakir D'Oudairies (9/2), Al Dancer (9/2), Klassical Dream (6/1), Angels Breath (6/1), Aramon (8/1), Elixir De Nutz (8/1), Felix Desjy (11/1), Vision D'Honneur (12/1), Mister Fisher (14/1), Grand Sancy (14/1), Itchy Feet (25/1), The Big Bite (25/1), Brandon Castle (25/1), Thomas Darby (28/1), Tokay Dokey (50/1), Beaufort West (66/1), Normal Norman (100/1), The Flying Sofa (125/1)

The 2019 Cheltenham Festival kicks-off with a potentially top-class renewal of the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Re-routed from the Triumph Hurdle, the 4yo Fakir D'Oudairies has looked the part since joining Joseph O'Brien so enters the mix in receipt of weight from his rivals. Nicky Henderson boasts a very strong hand with Angels Breath and Mister Fisher whilst Al Dancer (unbeaten over hurdles) is another to consider, along with the soft ground winner Elixir De Nutz. However, having saddled five previous winners of this race (three since 2013), preference is for the Willie Mullins-trained KLASSICAL DREAM who ticks the vast majority of required boxes.