Supreme Novices Hurdle Betting Guide

"The horses were a bit below par over Christmas, they weren't ill but they were not 100% right. However, he seems to be OK now. I put him in the better race (Rossington Main) but this was always my initial intention. I always wanted to run him in another at this level to give him some more experience. There's a possibility that if things went well, he could run in the totesport Trophy but we'll see what happens on Friday. I hope he can prove himself as good as Squire Silk but he has got a bit to prove yet. I was keen to have Graham (Lee) on and when I knew Ferdy (Murphy) wasn't declaring his (Kalahari King) that really made my mind up. The Ascot race he made his debut in is working out really well and he would have needed the run that day, too. What pleased me at Leicester was the fact that he handled the ground, he seems to get through it these days and he has a lot of pace. Akarem looks the obvious danger and hopefully he will make it a true run race. I'd like to get another run in to him before the Festival where all things being equal the Supreme will be his target."

“I think this is a star of the future. It's unusual for me to say that, but I did say it after Best Mate won here as a youngster. I adore this horse, and the plan is definitely for him to come back to the Festival. He has already schooled over fences at home and will now probably follow the same path as Best Mate. He'll have one more run and go for the Supreme Novices', although he will have an entry in the SunAlliance (Ballymore) too."

"He's in good form, he worked today and he worked well. It's all systems go. It was always the worry that we might not be able to get a run into him at this time of year. The only good thing is that we are getting the dry spell now, at the right time. And he'll be fresh, you're better off going there fresh than stale. He's won a couple of races over hurdles, a bumper and he even won on the Flat so he's won at every discipline he's been put in. He's won over a mile and three on the level so we know he's got plenty of pace."

"It's not that I didn't want to run him (at Punchestown) and it's unfortunate for the people that are here as he is one of the horses they had come to see. I walked the track about an hour before the first and it was lovely in fairness but when the snow and rain came in the last hour, it deteriorated the ground. The three-mile hurdlers opened up the ground and they were conditioned handicappers and they were finishing very tired. My horse won't like that ground, I was afraid he would lose his confidence jumping or do something stupid so I decided it would be best for the horse to forgo today. He's in the Deloitte next week but that is two and a quarter miles and it is hard to see there being too much improvement in the going, but I'll hope for the best as I wanted a third run over hurdles for experience. Any experience in life should be a good one and a bad experience could have a lasting effect. He may run on the all-weather at Dundalk."

"It'll be straight to the Supreme - that's the plan at the moment. His jumping is probably the thing, but we'll see if we can get that sorted out before we get to Cheltenham and go from there. You'd imagine better ground might help as most of his form has been on better ground in the past. It looks a very open race with the way things have gone this winter."

“It was my decision to run here but I am convinced the ground was too soft for us although take nothing away from the winner who is clearly very talented. We had to come here but just wait till we get a bit of good, decent fast ground. He will go straight to Cheltenham and although he will get an entry for the Champion Hurdle, the Supreme Novices looks the ideal race as he will get the hurly burly and fast pace that is so important to him. On spring ground I'd see him as a major player.”

“I'll look at what I have for each race, and I would have to say at this stage that I will be keeping my options open for as long as I can. He's in both races (Supreme and Ballymore), it's a distinct possibility that he may run in the longer race. I'm not leaning either way at the moment.”

"That was a nice comeback. It looks like he could head to Cheltenham for either the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices Hurdle or the Ballymore Properties Novices Hurdle. The owners are keen to travel and, if he goes to Cheltenham, will not run again beforehand. I'd imagine he's the best novice hurdler that I've run this season."

"The Ballymore is very much the plan, but I would not like to see the ground too fast. There would be no doubt in my mind if the going was too quick - I wouldn't risk him. He's a big horse, very lightly raced. We have to mind him and bide our time. He had a break after he ran at Leopardstown over Christmas. We'll just keep him ticking over. We'll take him to the beach, he loves it there, and just keep him fresh and well."

"He'd be a Supreme Novices' Hurdle horse. Graham says he's a machine, and he's ridden enough good horses to know what one feels like. His schooling at home, right from the start, has been electric, and we've always felt he was a very, very nice horse. First time out, when he got beaten, it was a combination of the (longer) trip, and maybe being a little too exuberant, plus he wouldn't have been fully wound-up. But this was more like it and we'll look to step him up in class next time, maybe down south."

"I schooled him myself and he felt fantastic and is in very good form. We're now more hopeful of seeing the horse at Cheltenham that turned up at Newbury the first day when he beat Theatre Girl very easily. Nothing's come out of that and Nicky said it was almost like he had bounced as it was such a time between his races, he just didn't feel the same horse at Doncaster. He travelled well at Newbury and jumped very well. He picked Theatre Girl up and spat her out, whereas when he was up at Doncaster he got blown out of the way by Tazbar and Whiteoak. He's a very good, fast horse and the ground would not be a problem to him, no matter what it is."

"Nothing has come to light at the moment and he's perfectly sound. Chomba Womba and him are very similar at home and what Chomba Womba and Theatre Girl did on Saturday showed that form was probably wrong. It's our job to find out what happened and to hopefully get him back to where he was. Mick said they have gone a good enough gallop, he travelled turning in but he was very flat from two out. "

"You'll not see him before Cheltenham and he'll go straight there, all being well. At the moment it's gone to plan with him and it's so far so good. He's in both the Supreme and the Ballymore Properties race, but we'd probably go for the Supreme I'd think."

"I'd say he'd improve quite a lot. He's a bit light and weak-looking. He winged the first and I was thrilled with how he travelled after, and he was finishing well. I don't think he'd take much running, so we'll give him a break. We'll wait and see what we do now, but he won't run over Christmas. There's the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown and the Deloitte Hurdle at Leopardstown to consider, with the latter the more likely."

"He came back fine. He's got a few bumps and bruises but they are not really good enough excuses really. The owners are still keen to go to Cheltenham, though, so he will probably still go."

"That was an ideal experience for him and he'll run in the Dovecote at Kempton next (February 23). He'll go (to the Supreme) if he runs well at Kempton. Tikram won for me at the Festival but I've had plenty of placed horses there. I'd love to have a good horse and I do like him a lot. He jumped much better today."

“This is a most remarkable horse. He didn't look anything special when summer jumping, but has improved with every race. I've never had a horse like him. This was a quality race with several of the runners well thought of, but he hasn't just beaten them, he's murdered them. I believe quite a bit of his improvement is down to Paddy Brennan. We changed tactics from front-running to waiting, and that has done the trick. He's in the Champion Hurdle and the Coral Cup, but the Supreme is the race for him. The Cheltenham hill will be to his advantage.”

"He is a big, strong horse but he is South African and has his coat wrong. He has just started growing a winter coat as the rest of ours are losing theirs so we have had him clipped. I would like to see some milder weather for him in the build-up but he has a huge engine and is a horse you will hear a lot of both this and next season."

"Rippling Ring goes straight to Cheltenham for the Supreme Novices. He was pulling very hard to start with, but Ruby got him settled and when the turbo kicked in I was quite impressed - though he made a mess of the last. He's the first horse I've bought from South Africa. He looked to have the scope to go jumping so we put it all together and we're very pleased.''

"You would have to be impressed with him as he'd been off a long time. He was gelded after the Northumberland Plate. It knocked him sideways. he's only just come back ready to run. He's a smashing little horse. He's done very well and there'll be some improvement to come. He's in the Supreme and the Ballymore and after that he'll have to go in one of them."

"He'll be entered in a Grade Two novice hurdle at Punchestown and he'll also have an entry in the Deloitte, but he may go straight to Cheltenham. I wouldn't want to run him on heavy ground as he'd be better going there (Cheltenham) a fresh horse. He's had the two runs and he schools well at home so I wouldn't be worried about a lack of experience. If I feel it's a problem I'll give him a run in one of those two races. The form of his first run behind Shazand couldn't have worked out much better as he was well-fancied for the Pierse last weekend when he probably didn't act on the ground as it was nearly unraceable. He (Sophocles) couldn't have won any easier at Leopardstown though and David Casey was very impressed with him. He was a little bit green and he idled a bit, but David said if they had gone a faster pace it would have suited him better. In a championship race they will go a good gallop and he has already run well twice there (Cheltenham) so we know he acts at the track. It looks like being a really good Supreme this year, but I couldn't be happier with my lad. David was really pleased with him last time and Ruby (Walsh) rode him in a bit of work and really liked him, so if I can get either of those two to ride him I'd be happy. But both have stronger stables to answer to yet."