Newland unfazed by novice domination as he prepares Leoncavallo for Betfair tilt

The recent trend for novices excelling in the Betfair Hurdle does not overly concern Richard Newland, who intends to be represented next month at Newbury by the more exposed Leoncavallo.

While seven of the last nine runnings of the valuable handicap have gone to novices, all of whom have been aged either five or six – including Kalashnikov last year – Newland believes the trend will be bucked at some stage.

"Somebody sent me some stats the other day which revealed that unexposed novices are dominant in the Betfair Hurdle," said the trainer.

"I think the timing of the race works particularly well for high-class novices who are on the way up before Cheltenham.

"However, I remember we got beat a neck in the race in 2007 with a seasoned eight-year-old Overstrand. I feel the mould will be broken at some point."

Seven-year-old Leoncavallo, a winner five times during his juvenile hurdling days when trained by John Ferguson, finished a highly creditable third behind the Willie Mullins pair Sharjah and Blazer in the Galway Hurdle last summer on only his second start for Newland.

"It’s a big ask against some of those unexposed novices at Newbury, but he’s been going nicely and the plan is to run ahead of a tilt at the County Hurdle," said Newland.

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