Kelso specialist Cracking Rhapsody seeking Morebattle Hurdle hat-trick

While Cracking Rhapsody may still have some way to go to match the exploits of Jinxy Jack’s record of four victories in the bet365 Morebattle Hurdle, he will line up at Kelso on Saturday in search of a hat-trick.

Trained excellently by Ewan Whillans, the €7,500 purchase defied a 13lb-higher mark 12 months ago and is another 4lb higher this year.

It is not as if Whillans has been hiding his light under a bushel, either, as he went on to run a blinder in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham last season before beating Kabral Du Mathan in the Scottish Champion Hurdle.

The seven-year-old has career earnings of close to £250,000 and is chasing some of the £120,000 on offer this weekend once more.

“He’s in very good nick and he’s done some nice work under his regular jockey Craig Nichol,” said Whillans.

“We gave him a gallop after racing at the last Kelso meeting and he seems to be really coming to himself. He just seems to love the track, he’s won on four of his six visits and been second once as well.

“We gave him a breathing operation to improve his wind after he was sixth at Aintree in December and he will come on for his run at Haydock in mid-January. He’s a lot fitter now so it’s hopefully all systems go for another big run – he won last year’s Scottish Champion Hurdle off a 1lb higher rating so we know he can be competitive in a major handicap off that sort of mark.”

Cracking Rhapsody is part of a highly competitive field of 17 runners, with the James Owen-trained Hamlet’s Night rated his biggest threat by bookmakers.

The five-year-old has won two his five starts over obstacles and pushed Rubaud close in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton in November, since when he has won on the Flat at Kempton.

Owen said: “He’s a lovely little horse who has improved with each run over hurdles.

“We pitched him in quite deep against some open horses and he ran really creditably and he’ll hopefully have learnt a lot doing that.

“They were only small fields, so he’s got to handle a bigger field on Saturday, but the ground looks to be going the right way for him, he’s had a prep run at Kempton where he wouldn’t have been 100 per cent wound up and he came through that with flying colours.

“It looked a sensible option to come here with the ground drying up and it’s great Sean Bowen was available as he has ridden him every time over hurdles every time so far.”

Jet To Vegas (Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore), course and distance winner Spectacularsunrise (Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies) and Captain Hugo (Philip Hobbs and Johnson White) also feature.

The headline name on the card is Dan Skelton’s stable stalwart Protektorat, who in the absence of Grand National favourite Iroko will be an extremely short price to claim a 10th career win in the bet365 Premier Chase.

Skelton, who claimed this Listed prize with his Gold Cup contender Grey Dawning last season, said: “We could have taken Protektorat to the Ryanair if we wanted, but to my mind he’s done his jobs and we’re going to ask him slightly lesser questions at an older age.”

Minella Drama (Donald McCain), the long-absent Ain’t That A Shame (Tom Ellis) and Stolen Silver (Georgina Nicholls) are Protektorat’s three opponents.

Grade Two honours are up for grabs in the bet365 Premier Novices’ Hurdle, which features Ben Pauling’s dual Wetherby winner Starmount, the hat-trick-seeking Le Beau Madrik from the Skelton yard and Tom Lacey’s Montemares, who was last seen finishing fourth behind star novice No Drama This End in the Challow at Newbury.

Owen saddles Red Oak in this two-and-a-quarter-mile contest and feels he could outrun his odds, adding: “I looked at his price and I couldn’t believe it really.

“He’s a lovely horse who has been crying out for the drying ground. It’s a tough ask, but I wouldn’t be running him if I didn’t think he could get in the first three.”