Meadowcroft Boy (9/1 with Sky Bet) will
bid to extend his unbeaten record to four in the £27,500 Grade Two Sky Bet
Supreme Trial Novices' Hurdle (2.05pm, 13 entries) over two miles at Haydock
Park on Saturday, January 18.
The Alistair
Whillans-trained five-year-old developed into a leading bumper performer last
season, following up his debut win at Newcastle in March with a decisive length
and a quarter success in the valuable DBS Spring Sales Bumper at Ayr in April.
He made an encouraging
start to his hurdling career when scoring by 21 lengths in a novices' hurdle at
Carlisle on December 1.
Whillans reported:
"Meadowcroft Boy has been in grand form since his win at Carlisle. I don't
know what the opposition was like, but he won it well enough.
"He jumped well and
is very professional. He is like that at home as he works well, but doesn't
sparkle. He just does his work and that's it.
"We were thinking of
going to Newcastle on Wednesday, but then we thought we would give him a go at
a decent race and see how good he is.
"After Saturday, we
will know whether we go handicapping or for the better races in the spring, but
his bumper form suggests he is pretty good.
"He seems versatile
but I would say good to soft or soft ground is fine for him. If it was heavy, I
think that would catch him out."
High-class French import Un
Temps Pour Tout (2/1 favourite) could have his first start for David Pipe
in Saturday's race after being purchased for £450,000 at the DBS Hennessy Sale
in November. The five-year-old was last seen finishing third behind Ptit Zig in
a Grade One contest at Auteuil in November, having captured a Grade Three
contest by five lengths at the same course in September.
Pipe revealed: "We
bought Un Temps Pour Tout five or six weeks ago and he has some very good form
to his name in France. He's been pleasing in his work at home, he's got options
this weekend and the plan is to run in one of them.
"He's in the Sky Bet
Supreme Trial Novices' Hurdle at Haydock and the Grade Two handicap hurdle at
Ascot. We'll look at the opposition and the ground and decide where he goes
later in the week.
"Hopefully, he's a
nice horse for the future." Willie Mullins is responsible for three of the
13 entries, headed by Valseur Lido (11/4), who has scored impressively
at Cork and Navan. Ireland's champion trainer has also entered classy Flat
recruit Sure Reef (11/1), who won at Leopardstown over Christmas, and
comfortable Navan victor Sizing Tennessee (9/1).
Other notables include
wide-margin Newbury winner Stand To Reason (13/2, Nicky Henderson), Sgt
Reckless (14/1, Mick Channon)and Zamdy Man (8/1, Venetia Williams),
who won a Listed contest over the course and distance on November 22.
Michael Shinners, Racing
PR Manager at Sky Bet, said: "We are delighted with the quality of entries
for the Sky Bet Supreme Trial Novices' Hurdle.
"David Pipe could be
represented by the potentially very exciting Un Temps Pour Tout while it will
be interesting to see if Ireland's champion trainer, Willie Mullins, decides to
send over any of his three entries. Stand To Reason was a useful performer on
the Flat and has done nothing wrong in winning both starts for Nicky Henderson.
"Last weekend didn't
tell us a great deal but hopefully Saturday's race will give us some clues in
the build-up to the opening race of the Cheltenham Festival - the Sky Bet
Supreme Novices' Hurdle."
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