Marie’s Rock connections still weigh up Festival target

Connections of Marie’s Rock are still no nearer to determining whether she will defend her Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle or instead attempt to land the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham next week.

The Nicky Henderson-trained eight-year-old made a sparkling return to action, winning the Relkeel Hurdle on New Year’s Day, having not run since taking a second successive Grade One victory in the Mares’ Champion Hurdle at Punchestown last April.

The Middleham Park Racing-owned mare will be seeking a fifth consecutive victory regardless of which race she contests.

She is a general 3-1 joint second-favourite behind Honeysuckle for the two-and-a-half-mile Mares’ Hurdle on Tuesday and a general 7-2 second-favourite for Thursday’s three-mile Stayers’ Hurdle.

Middleham Park racing manager Tom Palin said the weather will play a major part in their decision.

He said: “There are no firm plans, I’m afraid. I know Nicky is championing the Stayers’ but in our conversations, there isn’t a firm decision.

“He wouldn’t be solely in the Stayers’ camp, nor am I solely in the Mares’ camp.

“I think I’d be right in saying neither of us would want to try her over three miles on the testing course at Cheltenham in soft ground.

“We do need to see just what the weather does and that is obviously very unsettled at the moment.”

Blazing Khal has headed the Stayers’ Hurdle market since winning the Boyne Hurdle at Navan last month, on his first start in 14 months.

However, he subsequently suffered a setback and trainer Charles Byrne will give him a final piece of work on Friday before determining whether or not he will take his chance.

“Blazing Khal has a date with destiny tomorrow by all accounts, so that is something to factor in,” added Palin.

“If the Stayers’ Hurdle favourite isn’t in the race tomorrow afternoon, that is something sizable to take in. There is nothing set in stone.

“We will probably make the decision at 9.50am on Sunday. If there hadn’t been any rain around and Blazing Khal was out, I would say that would have a very, very big swing on where we go, I would imagine.

“But it doesn’t look like it will be guaranteed good ground at this point.”

Henderson also has the JP McManus-owned Epatante – who was overturned by Marie’s Rock when odds-on favourite at Punchestown – entered in the Mares’ Hurdle.

Potentially the race registered at the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle is one the most competitive events of the four-day meeting.

Palin added: “If it is soft ground, like it is probably going to be on Tuesday, the extra stamina that we might have in a Stayers’ will surely come to the fore in the Mares’.

“Soft ground, up that hill, is Epatante guaranteed to get it in soft ground? That is a question.

“Lest we forget, we are 1-0 against her, having beaten her at Punchestown.

“It could be a mouthwatering race. The winners of the last three Champion Hurdles taking each other on, and you put in there Marie’s Rock, who is no slouch and is defending champion, and arguably the best filly in training this side of the Irish Sea, then chuck in young pretenders like Love Envoi, Brandy Love and Theatre Glory, and it really is the race of the meeting!”

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