In-form Hill Sixteen aiming to hit the heights again back over hurdles

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A large number of the runners in this handicap hurdle are former chasers. Normally that would not bode well for strong form coming out of the race. However the two arguable form picks, Dell' Arca and Hill Sixteen, both fall into that category.

Veteran Dell' Arca is on a hat-trick and needs little elaboration. Those tempted to dismiss his latest win on the basis of runner-up Dolphin Square running poorly since need to consider that Haydock turned out to be a quagmire last Saturday. Hill Sixteen will be less familiar to most, especially southern viewers.

David Pipe: trains evergreen veteran Dell' ArcaCredit: Harry Trump

Last season, it was not hard to infer that the Sue Smith yard rated Hill Sixteen. His quirks were equally evident, and although there can be no doubt after his 46-length win on debut for Nigel Twiston-Davies shows his new yard are bringing the improvement, it cannot yet be said that his attitude can be considered inadmissible.

Ground conditions will be notably different here to Ffos Las, although it could well be argued that such concerns are priced in given he is due to be 10lb higher in future over hurdles.

Neville's Cross is a more obvious fit with the likely conditions, having done his winning at the tail end of summer. As that might suggest, this represents a step up in class, but he was not merely shown to be exposed when finishing fifth behind Honest Vic at Cheltenham's Showcase meeting, having made a big move down the hill.

Worth mentioning at a price is Samburu Shujaa. Things have not gone to plan since he went off third-favourite for the Pertemps Final in 2019, but a big part of that was an abortive chasing campaign last season. He did not really take to that discipline, but returns to hurdles on an attractive mark if he is fit.
Keith Melrose, betting editor

What they say

Neil King, trainer of Lil Rockerfeller
He's had a year off as he had a hiccup at Ascot last Christmas, but that's meant he's had a nice break, which he hasn't had for a long time. It's great to get him back and he'll improve from it. We'll see how he comes out of this before we make any further plans.

Lil Rockerfeller: returning from an absenceCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Nicky Henderson, trainer of The Cashel Man
He enjoys Newbury and is fine going into the race. I think it looks quite a strong contest and I think he's handicapped quite high.

Olly Murphy, trainer of I K Brunel
He's back hurdling as the owners have a lot of novice chasers and he doesn't have that much experience. He'll like the galloping track and three mile trip and could go well at a big price.

David Pipe, trainer of Dell' Arca
He's on a roll at the moment and Fergus Gillard gets on very well with him. Obviously, he's up in the weights, but he likes Newbury and the drier the ground the better for him. He goes there with a good each-way shout.

Alan King, trainer of Coeur De Lion and Loverboy
Coeur De Lion is a Royal Ascot winner but ran another shocker in the Cesarewitch and clearly doesn't like Newmarket. He's freshened up since and he looked like winning on his last try over hurdles at Kempton until blundering at the second-last. Loverboy was new to us last season and won at Chepstow after a long layoff before missing numerous races due to abandonments. He started off at Wetherby and was beaten less than five lengths in a muddling race and should give another good account.

Coeur De Lion: Royal Ascot winner is back over hurdlesCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Tom Lacey, trainer of Neville's Cross
He ran a good race at Cheltenham last time considering his position in the race throughout and that was a massive step up in class after winning at Hereford previously. He's in good order, will like the ground, and I expect him to run a good race.

Tom George, trainer of Ballon Onabudget
He had a good summer, including when winning a nice race at Newton Abbot. It looks a tough race but he'll like the ground and hopefully he will be competitive.

Rebecca Curtis, trainer of Summer Name
I think he’ll go well. Newbury should really suit him and I’m looking forward to running him on nicer ground. His last two runs have been on an absolute bog, which he handles, but he has a few gears and back on nice ground, with the trip and track, it could really suit him. It’s a shame after a short first season as a novice he’s had to go into big handicaps, but he has a couple of runs under his belt and I’d be fairly hopeful.

Sam Twiston Davies, rider of Hill Sixteen
He's back over hurdles as his handicap mark is more attractive and it made sense to have a crack at this. He'll find this a different ball game to running over fences in the mud like he did at Ffos Las last week, but he's a progressive type.
Reporting by David Milnes

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