Sceau Royal 'as good as ever' - but can he fend off he younger brigade?

Saturday: 3.00 Wincanton
Unibet Elite Hurdle (Grade 2) | 1m7f | 4yo+ | ITV4/RTV

If Sceau Royal wins this race again then it wouldn't be a surprise if it were to be named after him at some point in the future, because the ten-year-old has dominated the contest in recent years.

He won his first Elite Hurdle off a mark of 149 when it was a limited handicap in 2016 and has added another two victories since the race stopped being a handicap four years ago.

Those two wins came in the last two seasons and Sceau Royal will go to post favourite to complete a hat-trick. He defied a 6lb penalty in 2021 and bids to do so once again here.

Sceau Royal looked as good as ever last season and recorded his highest Racing Post Rating over hurdles when landing this race at the age of nine. His reappearance victory in a Listed event at Kempton last month suggests he is still thriving, and it's unlikely that age will be a barrier.

Paul Nicholls saddles Sceau Royal's main danger Knappers Hill and there was fighting talk in his Racing Post stable tour this week. Nicholls said: "We are the up-and-coming youngster, and I'd relish a crack at him [Sceau Royal]".

Knappers Hill is definitely progressing rapidly. He has won his last three starts, recording improving Racing Post Ratings of 132, 141 and 146, and Nicholls knows what it takes to win this as he has seven Elite Hurdle's to his name already.

Milkwood has recorded a 1lb higher RPR than Knappers Hill in the last 12 months and he made a promising reappearance when second in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las. However, he is more exposed than Knappers Hill and the other runner Knight Salute.

The four-year-old was a Grade 1 winner last season but shapes like he might want further than this trip and this is a sharp track. He may lack pace against speedier types.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

Sceau Royal 'as good as ever'

Sceau Royal, winner of 11 of his 25 starts over hurdles, bids for a remarkable fourth Elite Hurdle, having first landed the Grade 2 in 2016.

Daryl Jacob partnered the ten-year-old to all three of those successes, is in the saddle once again, and the pair set a high standard for the other three to aim at.

The ten-year-old had little difficulty justifying odds of 4-5 in this contest 12 months ago, and a last-time-out success at Kempton on good ground over hurdles suggests he's as good as ever.

Sceau Royal: comfortable winner on his reappearance at Kempton last monthCredit: Edward Whitaker

Sceau Royal is just as effective over fences, including success in the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices' Chase in 2017 and a third-place finish to Altior in the 2019 Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Trainer Alan King said: "He might be 11-years-old in less than two months' time, but whether he is running over fences or hurdles he still looks as good as ever.

"It was his 16th win for us when he returned in style at Kempton last month and, having shown us that he stays two and a half miles well enough when third in the Melling Chase at Aintree last season, we have that option to try him again over that longer trip later on."

What they say

Milton Harris, trainer of Knight Salute
He's a Grade 1 winner who dead-heated with Pied Piper at Aintree, yet he's the outsider of the field. The race is going to be tactical – there is no obvious pace in there, and we won't be making the running. There's not a lot of choice about where to go with him at this stage of the season. I don't want to run him in handicaps off 145, so this is the right race for him and I think he'll run well.

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Knappers Hill
He keeps on improving and winning. This is his toughest test so far, but the form of his Chepstow win last month has worked out very well and he'll love the ground.

Neil Mulholland, trainer of Milkwood
He's come out of the Welsh Champion Hurdle, in which he finished second, very well, and I'm looking forward to it. He was out exercising this morning and has improved mentally and physically for his first run. There may be only four runners, but it's an open, competitive race.
Reporting by Richard Birch

Saturday's British and Irish previews:

1.50 Wincanton: 'The handicapper has given him a chance' - can Frodon carry off another big win?

2.11 Aintree: Could the Topham prove the key to the Grand Sefton once again?

2.32 Down Royal: Ladbrokes Champion Chase: 'He has race fitness on his side' - Elliott on Galvin

3.07 Down Royal: 'He has a great chance on ratings' - Grade 1 winner Fury Road makes seasonal bow

3.13 Doncaster: Can beautifully bred Israr strike another blow for the Classic generation?

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