A total of 32 horses have been entered for Friday week’s St James’s Place Festival Hunters’ Chase at Cheltenham.
British yards are represented by 17 entries, while Ireland’s usual strong hand is headed by last year’s runner-up Its On The Line, who later went on to land the Randox Foxhunters’ Chase at Aintree and the Punchestown Champion Hunters’ Chase for trainer Emmet Mullins.
Last week’s Taunton winner Shearer, who is based with Paul Nicholls, is the shortest-priced British candidate, with the trio of Allmankind, Fairly Famous and Music Drive in a group just behind. Allmankind, in his first season point-to-pointing, has won impressively on two starts for Jenny Owen’s Newmarket yard, while Fairly Famous has also won twice this season for Gina Andrews’ Warwickshire stable. Andrews has also entered Master Templar, who is set to line-up in today’s hunters’ chase at Southwell (3.07).
Fairly Famous with trainer/rider Gina Andrews and members of the Signy and Marriage families who own the horse, including Simon Marriage (second left) Adam Signy and Edward Marriage (extreme right) (Ce)
Music Drive, who is trained in Leicestershire by Kelly Morgan, has also recorded two wins from two starts in his first season of point-to-pointing.
Other British-trained horses whose odds suggest they could make their presence felt include the Tom Britten-trained What A Glance, who won at Cheltenham’s evening meeting last year and then landed the Pertemps Champion Hunters’ Chase at Stratford, the sole Welsh candidate Angels Breath who won at Taunton in January for Tim Vaughan’s yard and the recent Fakenham winner Bardenstown Lad, who has switched from Sarah Loughnane’s Staffordshire yard to join the adjacent stable run by her husband, licensed trainer David.
Another of this season’s hunters’ chase winners, Lift Me Up, will be a first runner in the race for trainer Maxine Filby. Her candidate carries the colours of Christian Horner and his wife, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
Christian and Geri Horner and family are joined by Jack Andrews after he won on Lift Me Up at Kimble last season (Ce)