The jumps season proper is almost upon us. Chepstow‘s Welsh Racing Festival gets under way on Friday, and confirmations are in for the meeting’s three feature hurdle contests. Unsurprisingly, all three are well subscribed ahead of the action.
24 remain for Friday’s Welsh Champion Hurdle, 18 for the Grade 2 Persian War Novices’ Hurdle and 28 for Saturday’s Silver Trophy, with a familiar name popping up in all three. Here is how the fields shape up.
Welsh Champion Hurdle: Captain Hugo and Le Beau Madrik head 24
Friday’s £50,000 DragonBet Welsh Champion Hurdle, a limited handicap over 2m at 3.12pm, has 24 confirmations for a maximum field of 18, so six will miss out if all stand their ground. A pair of progressive novices from last season share favouritism at 5/1.
Captain Hugo was a smart novice for Philip Hobbs and Johnson White last term, winning the Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso at 14/1 before finishing second in the Grade 2 Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr. Sean Houlihan is booked. Dan Skelton’s Le Beau Madrik, meanwhile, signed off his novice campaign with a ready win at Haydock in April and will be partnered by Harry Skelton. He is one of five Skelton confirmations, alongside Listentoyourheart, Kateira, Knickerbockerglory and Faivoir.
Wellington Arch and Laafi share topweight on 11st 12lb. The former, who will be ridden by Jonjo O’Neill Jr, ended last season in style with a Premier Handicap success at Aintree’s Grand National meeting, having already been second in the big handicap hurdle at Newbury in February. Tom Lacey’s Gibbs Island is the only course-and-distance winner in the line-up.
Persian War: Lord Byron and North Shore lead 18
The Grade 2 DragonBet Persian War Novices’ Hurdle is the highlight of Friday’s card. Worth £80,000 and run over 2m3½f at 3.43pm, it has a roll of honour that includes Silviniaco Conti and Thyme Hill. 18 have been confirmed for a maximum of 16.
Joint-favourite at 5/2 is Faye Bramley’s Lord Byron, who brings the strongest form to the table. The four-year-old ran in some of the season’s best juvenile and novice hurdles, finishing fifth in the Triumph Hurdle at 80/1 and fourth in the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree. He then went closest of all when just failing in second in the Grade 1 Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.
Dan Skelton’s North Shore is the other 5/2 joint-favourite. The four-year-old raced in Ireland last season, where he contested Grade 1 juvenile hurdles at Leopardstown and Cheltenham before winning a maiden hurdle at Killarney in May. Harry Skelton rides.
Chris Gordon’s Cosmic Connection is in the mix and knows his way around Chepstow, having won a handicap hurdle here in April before landing the Novices’ Championship Final at Sandown later that month. The trainer’s son Freddie takes the ride. Paul Nicholls’ Stick To The Board is an intriguing hurdling debutant after winning a bumper here in March, while the Irish challenge is led by Paul Nolan’s Wexford winner Le Moulin Rouge and Henry de Bromhead’s La Cote Fleurie.
Silver Trophy: Masked Man heads 28
Saturday’s Grade 3 Wasdell Group Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle, worth £75,000 and run over 2m3½f at 4.02pm, has drawn the biggest crowd of the lot. 28 remain for a maximum of 18.
Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies’ Masked Man heads the betting at 4/1. He was second in the Grade 2 Newton Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock last season, though his campaign ended tamely when ninth in the Mersey. The yard also confirmed Ascot winner Glynn Brae. Olly Murphy’s Daylatedollarshort is another to note at 7/1, having followed two wins at Wetherby with a staying-on second in the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Final at Punchestown. Murphy also has course-and-distance winner Rambo T in the mix.
The Skelton mare Take No Chances is topweight on 12st, while Wellington Arch is also entered here as well as in the Welsh Champion Hurdle, along with several others including Moon Chime, Morning Mayhem and Queenie St Clair.
Pioneer Pete holds all the options
The busiest horse of the meeting is Pioneer Pete, who has been confirmed for all three races. The Jonjo and AJ O’Neill-trained six-year-old has been a model of progression, winning a maiden hurdle at Wetherby in March before going down narrowly in a handicap at Punchestown. He has since won novice hurdles at Worcester and Stratford over the summer.
He is around 10/1 for the Welsh Champion Hurdle, 8/1 for the Persian War and 7/1 for the Silver Trophy. Which way connections go will be one of the more interesting decisions of the week.
For the full fields and runners, check out our Chepstow racecards.