Dan Skelton believes My Drogo 'must have a big chance' of defying penalty

1.30 Kelso
bet365 Premier Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2) | 2m2f | 4yo+ | ITV/RTV

Northern Graded races are not necessarily weaker, but they tend to be more inconsistent in terms of standards and Kelso's Premier Novices' Hurdle is a sound example. The roll of honour contains Rouge Vif, Clever Cookie, even a defeat of Captain Conan, but there are also others who have proved rather opportunistic Grade 2 winners.

However, this might be the deepest running for some time. While winners rarely go on to Cheltenham, with Aintree a more common target, the result could have some bearing on the Supreme as My Drogo has form that ties in with Soaring Glory.

That was in the Grade 2 Kennel Gate at Ascot just before Christmas, when My Drogo found plenty to beat Llandinabo Lad (since floundered in the mud at Haydock) and Soaring Glory. That was over 1m7½f and an extra couple of furlongs here will be to his benefit, if anything, both in terms of how he shapes and his fairly stout pedigree. He is by Milan out of My Petra, who won the 1965 Chase back when it was a handicap.

The main danger is arguably from further down the betting than early second-favourite Bareback Jack, who is unbeaten but also untested at anything like this depth. Any News was second to Make Me A Believer (won a length getting 6lb) at Cheltenham in December and the reopposing third Lucky One has since blown away an ordinary field at Wincanton.

Lucky One is a bit of a free-goer and, as at Wincanton, it may work to his benefit at Kelso, where on the hurdles course front-runners often do not come back. Like Any News, he gets 5lb from My Drogo. He has not shown as much ability as the favourite up to now, but small advantages such as weight and tactics claw that back to the point that My Drogo should not be treated as a sure thing.
Keith Melrose, betting editor

What they say

Dan Skelton, trainer of My Drogo
We've had this race in mind since he won at Ascot. We're missing Cheltenham with him this year, so it's always seemed the obvious race to go for. He has to carry a Class 1 penalty which makes things more difficult for him, but he's very well, very fresh, and must have a big chance.

Neil Mulholland, trainer of Any News
He's rated 143, which is the joint-highest in the race. He's coming back from a break and can hopefully head on to Aintree after this. It's a horserace but he's a nice horse in the making.

Nicky Richards, trainer of Castle Rushen
He's a lovely horse – next year's horse – and this is another step up in grade. He won't be far away, though. He's an improving type, and has won three of his five races and finished second in the other two. I like him.

Michael Scudamore, trainer of Do Your Job
He didn't run any sort of race at Sandown last time; he was beaten down the back straight and simply couldn't handle the gluey ground there. We've given him a wind op since and we're hoping the return to better ground will see him back on track. He's got a bit to find with one or two, but if you took his last run out he'd be a lot shorter in the betting. He's still going the right way.

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Lucky One
He's kept on improving and won nicely last time at Wincanton. The runner-up [Natural History] won at Plumpton on Monday, so the form looks quite good.
Reporting by Richard Birch

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