'If he enjoys it and jumps I'll be happy' - Champ all set for festival warm-up

3.00 Newbury
Betfair Game Spirit Chase (Grade 2) | 2m½f, 5yo+ | ITV4/RTV

A plethora of two-mile chasing greats have landed the Game Spirit, including Sprinter Sacre, Altior, Master Minded, Azertyuiop, Viking Flagship and Pearlyman.

Pinpoint jumping and a push-button turn of foot characterised many of those illustrious performers, traits that are prerequisites for a horse to reach the top at the trip.

The highest-rated of the six runners this time is Champ, who takes a marked drop in distance on his long-awaited seasonal reappearance, having last been seen when producing a storming run at the end of three miles at Cheltenham 11 months ago to pull the RSA Chase out of the fire.

Fully eight lengths behind the duelling Minella Indo and Allaho at the last, Barry Geraghty conjured a memorable charge up the famous hill to get up close home and win by a length.

Champ has undergone wind surgery since, but it is still not hard to envisage him getting outpaced during a crucial stage over this much shorter distance.

After all, stamina has always looked Champ's forte, and the last time he raced over two miles he was a beaten 4-6 favourite in a Kempton bumper four years ago.

This run will surely be needed to blow away the cobwebs before a tilt at next month's WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup – run over a near 3m3f trip which is tailor-made for him. He is generally on offer at 10-1 for the festival feature.

Greaneteen must concede weight to all five rivals, but he's a progressive seven-year-old and there is a strong chance he is capable of doing so.

Winner of four of his six races over fences, highlighted by the Grade 2 Haldon Gold Cup success in November, he was blown away by Politologue on his first venture into Grade 1 company in Sandown's Tingle Creek Chase the following month.

Nonetheless, that was a career-best performance against a stablemate who was bang on his A-game, and there appears plenty more to come from this thoroughly likeable sort.

A victory here would strengthen his claims as the one who could conceivably be best equipped to take advantage if Chacun Pour Soi underperforms in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Greaneteen's trainer Paul Nicholls also runs Dolos and Magic Saint, and with no natural front-runner in the race, it would be a surprise if Ditcheat did not have the pace angle covered.

Sceau Royal was runner-up to Altior in the Game Spirit 12 months ago, and the more the ground dries out the better his chance will be.

Race analysis by Richard Birch

Henderson happy with 'strange strategy' as Champ returns

Nicky Henderson believes getting a crucial run into Champ is more important than his finishing position when he makes his belated comeback at Newbury.

The champion trainer is finally unleashing Champ into open company in the Betfair Game Spirit Chase following the surprise decision to run over 2m½f, a trip one mile shorter than when powering up the Cheltenham hill to win last season's RSA in dramatic fashion.

The nine-year-old, who has had a wind operation, is expected to progress on to the WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup next month, a race in which he is a best-priced 12-1 with bet365.

However, Henderson admits he will be pleased simply to get Champ back into competitive action.

Nicky Henderson: trainer is taking the uncoventional route with ChampCredit: Edward Whitaker

He said: "We'll be glad to get him out, he's got to start somewhere. It's been well documented why we're going this way, it's a strange strategy, but it makes sense to us anyway, even if it doesn't to everybody else.

"He's in good form, he's schooled well and is sharp and well. We're happy and I've just got to get this run into him, and over two miles he's not going to get as hard a race as he would over three.

On what he would consider to be a successful preparation for next month's Cheltenham Festival, Henderson added: "As long as he jumps round and enjoys himself. I don't think where he finishes is as important as getting the run, and if he finishes well and enjoys it and jumps, well I'll be happy."

What they say

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Greaneteen, Dolos and Magic Saint
It was always the aim to come here with Greaneteen en route to Cheltenham or Aintree. This will tell us a lot more about him, but he's in good shape. He's progressive, he won the Haldon Gold Cup and ran well in the Tingle Creek, and I think he'll run very well. Dolos ran nearly a career best on ratings the other day at Sandown. We want to support the race and hopefully he'll run well and pick up some prize-money. I think Magic Saint has a massive chance. He loves to be fresh, loves the track and decent ground. We've had this race in mind for him for quite a while, there are a lot of pluses for him.

Alan King, trainer of Sceau Royal
He remains in good form. We're not even thinking about Cheltenham until after his next race and he'll not run in anything at the festival if conditions are too testing – there will be other races for him later in the spring.

Venetia Williams, trainer of Fanion D’Estruval
I could do with the rain we’ve had here pushing its way across to Newbury but I’m not sure it’s going to. Newbury tends to dry up quickly and it’ll end up being a speed test on the driest ground any of us have encountered for several months. He has a task on his hands on ratings but we'll see.

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