A full field of 18 is due to go to post for the 60th – and quite possibly also the last – running of the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, a race that has been won by many famous names down the years.
Arkle, Mandarin, Mill House, Burrough Hill Lad and Denman are among the horses to have won both the Hennessy and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in recent seasons, and while there may not be another future champion in today’s field, it could hardly be any more competitive. Native River, a Grade One winner at Aintree in April, is a worthy favourite from the in-form Colin Tizzard stable, but there are two or three runners at most that can be ruled out with complete confidence.
Native River made a satisfactory return to action over hurdles last month, finishing a close second behind Silsol in a Grade Two event, and today’s test looks tailor-made for a horse who finished second in the four-miler at Cheltenham in March. That said, a mark of 155 looks high enough for his first start over fences outside novice company, and Henri Parry Morgan, for instance, who was three lengths behind him in second at Aintree, meets him on 5lb better terms here.
Un Temps Pour Tout, who ran below form when fourth in the same race at Aintree, also has an obvious chance today based on his earlier seven-length win in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham. But if you like the chance of Un Temps Pour Tout at around 8-1, the one to back today is surely Vicente, the Scottish National winner, at the widely available 20-1.
Vicente gave 8lb and a two-and-three-quarter length beating to Un Temps Pour Tout at Cheltenham last November, yet is set to carry 7lb less than that rival today, despite the win at Ayr which rounded off a very satisfactory novice season. His fitness is unproven, but Paul Nicholls, his trainer, is hardly known for leaving his horses short of work before a major race.
Newbury 1.30 This is almost as competitive as the Hennessy itself, but Final Assault may offer some value after a promising return to action at Ayr last time out. The winner Indian Temple was gone beyond recall by the time Final Assault started to stay on into second place, but Lucinda Russell’s seven-year-old was successful second time up last year after a decent seasonal debut and the pattern may repeat here.
Newcastle 1.45 A small field and Acdc is outclassed, but his opponents all have form that gives them a chance. Get On The Yager was a comprehensive winner on his hurdles debut at Market Rasen, however, and that form has already been boosted by the victory of third-home Druid’s Folly at Towcester on Thursday. Spirit Of Kayf got no further than the second flight last time out but should give him most to do.
Newbury 2.05 Battle Born will be a live contender if he is sufficiently fit after more than two years on the sidelines, having won his only start over hurdles at Uttoxeter in October 2014 in the style of a very useful prospect. He may need to feel his way back, however, and Born Survivor looks the bet to follow up his second-place finish at Aintree last time out. That form has been franked several times since, not least by the winner Massini’s Trap, who went close in a more valuable race at Haydock last weekend.
Newbury 2.40 The bare form figures of “4U” against Who Dares Wins are not the most immediately attractive on offer, as Theligny is looking for a four-timer and Ozzie The Oscar arrives on the back of an impressive success at Wetherby. Alan King’s runner was a close fourth in the totepool Silver Tropy, however, traditionally a strong race and one that is working out well this year. He then unseated at the second at Cheltenham’s Open meeting, and remains on an attractive mark if his hurdling is a little sharper today.
Newcastle 2.55 Apple’s Jade and Petit Mouchoir were stable companions at the Willie Mullins yard last season but moved on when Michael O’Leary fell out with the trainer over his fees and now line up here for Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead respectively. Petit Mouchoir makes most appeal at the prices on offer, as he did little wrong in top-class company last season and was not suited by the way the race unfolded when third last time out. Apple’s Jade was the odds-on favourite for that race, and boasts the most memorable form on offer having taken the Grade One juvenile event at the Grand National meeting in April by 41 lengths. She did not look the same horse on her first start for Elliott, however, and may be one to avoid until she rediscovers her best form. Sceau Royal leads the home defence, but was twice below form when stepped up to Grade One company last season.
Newcastle 3.30 Bishops Road looks interesting here at around 8-1. He hasn’t made it past the first fence in his last two starts, having unseated at the first when favourite for the Topham Trophy at Aintree and then suffered a fall in the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown. Overall, though, his jumping was perfectly sound in the earlier part of last season, not least when he took the Grand National Trial at Haydock in February. His fitness needs to be taken on trust, but Kerry Lee’s chaser won after a four-and-a-half month break back in January and has a much better chance than his price implies assuming that his jumping holds up.
Newbury 3.45 Parsnip Pete has sometimes found rather less than seemed likely at the business end of a race, but his strike-rate over fences is still a very respectable 20 per cent and he was running for the first time since July when he finished a fair third at Aintree earlier this month. That gave Adrian Heskin a chance to get to know him, and he is a fair price at around 6-1 to get his head back in front today.
