Kempton previews: get the inside track from connections

Scriptwriter could cement his place as Britain’s leading JCB Triumph Hurdle hope in the Coral Adonis Juvenile Hurdle at Kempton.

Milton Harris won the Grade Two contest with Knight Salute 12 months ago and is treading the same path to the Cheltenham Festival with his classy recruit from Aidan O’Brien’s all-conquering Flat string.

A winner of his first two hurdling starts and also successful when having a spin on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in December, he was beaten less than a length by Joseph O’Brien’s Comfort Zone at Prestbury Park on Trials Day.

He lost little in defeat that day and Harris now hopes he can regain the winning thread to gather some momentum towards the Festival in this £80,000 contest.

He said: “He’s in good form. It’s well publicised that Paddy (Brennan) and I both agree that we got tactics a bit wrong at Cheltenham last time, without wishing to take anything away from the winner.

“It’s going to be a difficult task with a penalty, but he seems in good form and is probably the leading British juvenile and I have no problem with the horse’s form and well-being heading into the race.

“The Adonis is a good race in its own right and we did consider going fresh to the Triumph, but this is an £80,000 good race and it needs supporting. Cheltenham isn’t the be-all and end-all of everything, even though it is clearly our main target, but he is a juvenile hurdler.

“This horse has a Flat rating of 104 and ran to 104 when he ran on the Flat not so long ago and you have to ask yourself could any of these run to 104 on the Flat?

“We’re very happy and have had a clean run (since Cheltenham) and it would be very good for Paddy and the owners. The horse is a very nice horse and we’ll be doing our best.”

Scriptwriter has another Joseph O’Brien horse to take on this time in the form of Nusret – who looked good at Punchestown in the autumn before finishing third in deep contests the last twice.

Paul Nicholls also looks to have a smart prospect for a race he has won three times in the last 10 years in the form of Rare Middleton.

A winner at Leopardstown for Andy Oliver in the autumn, he soon transferred to Ditcheat for 215,000 guineas and made a winning debut for the champion trainer at Taunton last month.

“A useful handicapper on the Flat in Ireland, he made a pleasing hurdles debut for us with a tidy victory at Taunton early in January,” Nicholls told Betfair.

“That wasn’t the strongest of maiden races but he has come on nicely at home and this has always been his target.

“I’m hopeful that Rare Middleton can now raise his game on good ground that will suit him at Kempton. This race will tell us whether he goes for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham or waits for Aintree.”

Alan King is another with a fine record in this event and relies on Spartan Army, while Nicky Henderson last won this in 2019 with Fusil Raffles and unleashes the former William Haggas-trained mare Pawapuri, who was rated 85 on the level and looks an interesting hurdling newcomer for the Seven Barrows handler.

A new name to the training ranks is Ben Brookhouse and he is looking to his first-ever winner Sarsons Risk to build on victory at Doncaster and put his name on the map.

He said: “He seems to have come out of Doncaster well and he is a likeable type and seems to want to do it.

“He only had three days off after Doncaster but it was like a piece of work to him in all fairness. We are just pressing on now and looking forward to the Adonis.

“I think he is very special and he has a big engine now that we have sorted his wind issue out. His jumping at Doncaster was as slick as you like, which is a big thing for juveniles.

“I think he definitely deserves his place on Saturday. There is the voice in your head telling you he will win this without too much fuss, potentially, but then you have the realistic voice in your head saying everyone is thinking this. I think he has got a very good chance but the opposition is strong.”

Gary Moore’s Perseus Way finished second to Scriptwriter at Cheltenham on his hurdling debut and has gone on to acquire a rating of 125 over timber thanks to a placed effort in a Chepstow Grade Two and a commanding victory in the Chatteris Fen.

That Huntingdon success was given a timely boost when the runner-up bolted up at the same track on Thursday, but Moore believes his charge needs to raise his game.

He said: “It will be different to Huntingdon, a bit tougher race. He’s wrong with a few horses in the race handicap wise, but I just felt he had to have a go. He can go there and get the same prize money as the Fred Winter and I think the track will suit him.

“He’s a horse we like a lot, but he’s got to up his game a bit on Saturday. Scriptwriter is a 104-rated Flat horse isn’t he, but he wasn’t far behind him at Cheltenham the first time so we’ll just have to have a go at it.”

Datsalrightgino has the chance to avenge his narrow Newton Abbot defeat at the hands of Boothill in the Coral Pendil Novices’ Chase.

Jamie Snowden’s seven-year-old enjoyed the step up in trip when second to Stage Star on Festival Trials day and receives 5lb from Harry Fry’s Wayward Lad winner as they rematch over a longer distance.

“He’s a smashing horse who has progressed all season,” said Snowden.

“He did well to win over two miles but has improved for going up to two and a half as you saw the last day when he chased home Stage Star at Cheltenham – that was a good performance.

“Obviously he reopposes Boothill, who he took on at Newton Abbot earlier in the season and Boothill now has a 5lb penalty for winning the Grade Two over Christmas.

“It’s a competitive little race, but hopefully he goes there with a decent chance with good prize money on offer.”

Nicholls has an imperious record in this Grade Two contest winning it six times in the last 10 years.

He has sent out the victor in the past two seasons and looks to bring up the hat-trick with Solo, who won the Adonis on this day in 2020 and arrives on the back of a wind operation with some smart chasing form in the book.

“He has run really well on all three starts over fences this season and worked nicely at home on Friday morning,” said Nicholls.

“The form of his second to Balco Coastal at this track on Boxing Day is strong, he was giving 8lb to the winner and Solo has since had a little op to cauterise his palate.

“Track, trip and ground are ideal for our horse, who won the Adonis Hurdle in eyecatching fashion on this card three years ago.

“We have a great record in the Pendil, having won it in six of the last 10 years and Solo has decent claims of adding his name to the roll of honour.”

Nicky Henderson’s Tweed Skirt and Dan Skelton’s Jay Jay Reilly are also engaged.

Clondaw Castle has some big boots to fill as he bids to become trainer Tom George’s second dual winner of the Coral Trophy at Kempton on Saturday.

The three-mile contest has a prestigious roll of honour, with the great Desert Orchid (1990), the ill-fated Gloria Victis (2000) and two Grand National heroes in Rhyme ‘N’ Reason (1988) and Rough Quest (1996) all previous winners.

Only two horses have won the race twice, with Docklands Express claiming back-to-back victories in 1991 and 1992 before George’s popular grey Nacarat struck gold in 2009 and 2012.

Nacarat also won the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby and the Aintree Bowl for the Slad-based trainer, who has high hopes for Clondaw Castle in this weekend’s feature event.

The 11-year-old was a clear-cut winner in 2021 and in his next three races he finished second in the Bowl at Aintree, third in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby and fourth in the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

He subsequently spent 14 months on the sidelines but made a promising return when second in Kempton’s Silviniaco Conti Chase in January, setting him up for a bid to regain his Kempton crown.

“He had a good comeback run. It was a nice run over what was probably an inadequate trip for him and on ground that was a bit softer than ideal,” said George.

“We know he likes the track and three miles and this has been our target. His comeback run proved he retains his ability and he’s been in great form since, so fingers crossed.

“Nacarat won it twice, so let’s hope Clondaw Castle can follow suit.”

Also bidding to become a dual winner is defending champion Cap Du Nord.

Christian Williams sends the 10-year-old back into a battle just seven days after winning a valuable prize at Ascot. He carries a 5lb penalty for that success, a burden that is offset by the booking of talented Irish conditional Cian Quirke.

Williams said: “We’ve been very lucky with Cap Du Nord, I bought him off a good friend of mine and he’s looked after me. He’s been a wonderful horse from the day we got him, a great horse – he wins a big race for me every year.

“It’s wonderful prize-money and we try to support the race with a runner.”

Cap Du Nord disputes favouritism with fellow Welsh raider Annsam. The Evan Williams-trained gelding was pulled up 12 months ago and must contend with a 7lb rise in the weights for winning by 17 lengths over the course and distance on his latest appearance.

“He’s grand – he’s in great old form. He was pretty impressive the other day and we’ll have another go,” said the Llancarfan handler.

“We know he likes it round the track. He made a very bad mistake early last year – he stretched for the second and it was game over after that.

“We said before his last run that if we ran well, we wanted to try to get here.

“It’s a very competitive race, it’s full of very good horses and all we can do is have a damn good go.”

Having previously claimed the race with Gungadu (2008) and Rocky Creek (2015), champion trainer Paul Nicholls has a strong hand in his bid for a third success, with top-weight Frodon joined by Saint Calvados and Enrilo.

The admirable Frodon drops in grade after finishing third in the King George and fifth in the Cotswold Chase on his two most recent outings, as does Saint Calvados after a fourth-placed finish in the Silviniaco Conti Chase. Enrilo, meanwhile, has not completed in his last three races.

Nicholls told Betfair: “Frodon is back for more at the track where he famously won the King George VI Chase in 2020 and finished third in it last Boxing Day.

“While he is still a few pounds too high in the handicap and has to carry top-weight, you know he will always go out and perform for you and he is bound to be competitive.

“With his owner David Maxwell on the injured list, Harry Cobden gets to ride Saint Calvados for the first time since their decisive victory in the Oaksey Chase at Sandown last April.

“I thought he ran all right last time at Kempton last time on very soft going that he hated when fourth behind Pic D’Orhy. It’s the first start for Saint Calvados in a handicap for a while and he must have a big chance over three miles on the better ground that he needs these days.

“Angus Cheleda will be claiming a handy 5lb off Enrilo who has a lovely, light racing weight. He does, though, have something to prove now after an underwhelming season.”

Jacamar won at Kempton on Boxing Day last season and was victorious on his most recent appearance at Leicester. His trainer Milton Harris believes he could outrun his odds.

He said: “He’s not without a chance. He’s consistent, he ran well in a competitive race at Cheltenham before winning at Leicester and we’ve always had it in the back of our minds that he might be a three-miler.

“The ground conditions will be right for him and he seems in a really good place. It’s going to be hard to win, but it’s a very open race I would say.”

Gary Moore looks to have the trump card in the Sky Bet Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle at Kempton as Hansard looks to maintain his unbeaten record over obstacles.

A winner of both outings over timber so far, he gave 7lb to Betfair Hurdle sixth Master Chewy when impressing at Plumpton at the turn of the year.

Freshened up for this Grade Two contest since, Moore hopes the Noel Fehily Racing-owned five-year-old – who is a 40-1 shot for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle with race sponsor Sky Bet – can continue on his upward curve at a track that could play to his speedy strengths.

“He’s done nothing wrong so far and is a horse we like a lot,” said Moore.

“The track will suit him as he’s not slow. We would like the ground to have a bit more give in it, but you’ve got to take what you’re given at the moment.

“He’s a very nice horse and I would like to think he’ll keep going (upwards). This has always been the plan since Huntingdon when he won his first hurdle race and he will be going there fresh. Hopefully he can run a big race.”

His chief market rival appears to be Paul Nicholls’ Rubaud, who was somewhat disappointing when quietly fancied for the Betfair Hurdle, but has some smart novice form in the book from his prior efforts.

“He has taken to hurdles so well that I fancied him in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury, but he ruined his chance by pulling like a train in the first half of the race,” Nicholls told Betfair.

“Harry (Cobden) didn’t give him a hard time once it was clear he was beaten. I’m putting on a hood to help Rubaud relax better and he should be much happier back in novice company in a smaller field of runners round a track where he ran well at Christmas.”

Jonjo O’Neill’s Huntingdon scorer Imperial Bede and Chris Gordon’s Kayf Legend both arrive on the back of victories and are worth their place in the field, while Olly Murphy is hoping good ground can see Ukantango back to his best having struggled in testing conditions when tackling the Tolworth.

He said: “We’re looking forward to running him back on better ground, he hated the ground at Sandown in the Tolworth – it was bottomless heavy and you either love it or hate it there and he absolutely hated it.

“He seems in very good form and doesn’t seem a million miles wrong at the ratings. His Cheltenham run reads very well and we’re looking forward to him running.”

The field for the Grade Two event is completed by the Milton Harris-trained pair of Mullenbeg and Postmark – with the latter turning out quickly following success in a Newbury maiden last weekend.

“Mullenbeg has had a lovely break,” said Harris. “She knocked herself when she ran at Cheltenham when she finished sixth, which I probably ran her in too quickly (after her win at Ludlow).

“She’s never been as well as I’ve got her now, she’s in a great place. She gets a 7lb mares’ allowance which brings her in line with some of the geldings. If you asked what does she want, I would say a quick two miles on a sharp track and nice ground and that is what she has.

“She’s already been a success, she won a Listed bumper and three hurdle races and this will tell us if she should be going to the Mares’ Novice at the Cheltenham Festival.”

On Postmark, he added: “He’s rated 89 on the Flat. Unfortunately he wants nice ground and we’ve ran out of time a bit to get him three runs to get him qualified for the Boodles, if we go that route.

“This Saturday is the last weekend you can run before you get a mark for the Boodles. He will be doing his best and I can see him running into a place, which would give him a mark if we choose to go that route.

“He needs to run well to justify that thought, but Harry (Redknapp) is a new owner and the horse has already won on the Flat and won last week at Newbury, so he’s turned out to be a successful purchase.”