Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls in Finale battle for Grade 1 honours

1.35 ChepstowCoral Finale Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 1) | 2m | 3yo | ITV4/ATR

KEY HORSES & QUESTIONS

Can Simon Munir and Isaac Souede land first Grade 1 juvenile hurdle of season for third time in five runnings?

The owners whose emerald and dark green colours have become so familiar took this prize last year with We Have A Dream and in 2014 with a certain Bristol De Mai.

They rely this time on Adjali, an ex-French three-year-old who made a winning debut for Nicky Henderson at Market Rasen three weeks ago.

The trainer certainly knows what it takes to land the Finale, having scored with Mister Banjo (1999), Nas Na Riogh (2002) and Blue Shark (2005) as well as We Have A Dream.

He said of Adjali: "He was impressive at Market Rasen, although I don't know what he beat. This time he'll be meeting better horses and he'll need to step up, but I think he can do that."

Can Paul Nicholls score just his second Finale victory?

This has not tended to be a big target for the multiple champion jumps trainer, who won it for only the first time when Adrien Du Pont scored in 2015.

But he has a leading contender here in Quel Destin, who completed a hat-trick in the Grade 2 Summit Juvenile Hurdle at Doncaster last time.

Nicholls said: "He's very tough and genuine. He's won three on the bounce and I expect him to run very well."

Could there be a first French success since 2006?

There was a strong Gallic flavour to this contest in the early part of the century, with Guillaume Macaire scoring with Jair Du Cochet (2000) and Tempo D'Or (2001) and Thierry Doumen with Good Bye Simon (2006).

Now Adrien Lacombe tries his luck with Arverne, who has been bought by JP McManus since winning a juvenile hurdle in heavy ground at Auteuil last month.

The owner's racing manager Frank Berry said: "We don't know an awful lot about him at present but his trainer seems very happy with him and he did it well last time.

"It looks a very competitive race but we'll learn a good bit more about him here and we'll go from there."

Could there be a shock in a race with no winner at double-figure odds since 2009?

Gary Moore is realistic about the prospects of Tazka, who won narrowly at Fontwell last month and was a close second under a penalty back there a fortnight ago.

"She's got her work cut out but if she can nick a place I'll be highly delighted," said the trainer. "Anything after that will be a bonus."

The field is completed by the Brendan Powell-trained De Bruyne Horse, a winner over six and seven furlongs on the Flat who has been beaten a total of 58 lengths in his two hurdle races.

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