Get Me Out of Here and My Tent Or Yours both won this race – the former before it came the Betfair Hurdle – under Tony McCoy in J P McManus’s colours and the owner is represented by three runners in Saturday’s renewal where the weights are headed by last year’s winner Glory And Fortune.
McManus’s past winners were trained by Jonjo O’Neill and Nicky Henderson respectively and the unexposed No Ordinary Joe looks interesting having returned better than ever from a year off to win at Kempton’s Christmas meeting for Henderson.
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McManus’s other pair are both trained in Ireland. The strong-travelling Icare Allen wasn’t too far behind the best juveniles last term for Willie Mullins, finishing fourth in the Triumph, and he ran well on his only start this season when third behind another unexposed pair in a valuable event at Fairyhouse on his handicap debut in December. That race was won by Mullins’ nephew Emmet with Merlin Giant but it’s stable-companion Filey Bay who represents that trainer here and looks the clear number one among the McManus entry according to the betting.
Very lightly raced over hurdles for a seven-year-old, Filey Bay only joined Emmet Mullins this term and has won both his starts for his new stable on successful raids on handicaps across the Irish Sea. He was well backed when winning at Doncaster in late-November and followed up with a very snug success at Wincanton just five days later. He’s 9 lb higher in the weights now but very much appeals as one of the more progressive types in this field.
Jonbon’s position as Arkle favourite on the line in the Kingmaker
There was a convincing win at Leopardstown last weekend for El Fabiolo who emerged as Ireland’s best hope for the Sporting Life Arkle at Cheltenham when forging clear to win the Irish Arkle by ten lengths. That puts the ball in Jonbon’s court who will likely have to make a similar impression in Saturday’s Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick (2:40pm) if he’s to retain his long-held position at the head of the Arkle market.
There’s little between the pair with Paddy Power in their non runner no bet markets, so it wouldn’t take much to tip the balance. There was only a neck in it when Jonbon came out on top when they met in the Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree last season, while El Fabiolo’s Leopardstown victory has actually put him a couple of pounds ahead of Jonbon on Timeform ratings over fences.
All eight runners in a cracking Irish Arkle had shown at least smart form over fences, whereas Jonbon will face only three rivals at Warwick now. Jonbon hasn’t run since Sandown in December, his only other run over fences coming when beating Monmiral in a three-runner contest at Warwick on his chasing debut.
Jonbon’s other chief rival is another course-and-distance winner Haddex des Obeaux who is in receipt of 5 lb. He’s an enthusiastic front-runner so should at least ensure there’s no hanging around in this small field. The winner of handicaps on his last two starts, he was a wide margin winner from a couple who have won since in a four-runner contest here last month and could take some pegging back if in the same form again.
Tolworth form could be tested at Exeter on Sunday
Exeter’s Sunday card features a potentially very interesting novice hurdle which could well prove to be a fair bit better than its listed status might suggest. That’s because a couple of the entries were last seen in Grade 1 company, with L’Astroboy and Nemean Lion finishing second and third respectively behind Tahmuras in the Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown last month, though admittedly that might not have been the strongest renewal of that contest.
Even so, that gives the placed horses some of the best claims on form here. L’Astroboy, who’d beaten Tahmuras on his only start in bumpers, has the more scope for improvement of the pair as the Tolworth was only his second start over hurdles. He stayed on well to be beaten two and a half lengths behind the winner with Nemean Lion, who had useful form on the Flat in France, a length behind him in third.
Tahmuras’ trainer Paul Nicholls could be represented here by the likeable Lallygag who has won three of his four starts over hurdles, two of them at Exeter, while L’Astroboy’s trainer Evan Williams has another exciting entry in Out of Office. He finished fourth behind Tahmuras when the pair made their hurdling debuts at Chepstow and jumped superbly when getting off the mark in impressive fashion back at the same track last time.
However, the one they could all have to beat here is Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten mare Luccia who also holds an entry at Uttoxeter the day before. She would likely have started favourite for the Tolworth but had to miss the race after an unsatisfactory scope. After winning both her bumpers last season, she looked a most exciting prospect on her hurdling debut in a listed contest for mares at Newbury in November, jumping fluently and travelling strongly before leaving her rivals well strung out.
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