'That will be his run before the festival, provided I don't fall off'

Porlock Bay will make his first racecourse start since winning last year's St James's Place Festival Hunter Chase at Cheltenham when lining up at Bangor on Friday under amateur jockey Will Biddick.

The ten-year-old, owned by John Studd and trained by Biddick, was second in a point-to-point at Chaddesley Corbett in December and remains on course to defend his title at next month's festival after running in the John Hewitt Memorial Open Hunters' Chase (1.55).

He beat the Willie Mullins-trained Billaway by a short head last year and was partnered by Lorcan Williams due to pandemic rules that restricted riding to professionals, which ruled Biddick out of the ride.

"He's going to have a little spin round Bangor and that will be his run before the Cheltenham Festival, provided I don't fall off at the first fence," said Biddick, a multiple champion point-to-point jockey.

"Hopefully, he'll run a nice race. It's just a chance for him to have a blow. The plan is for me to stay on him now. It will be good to ride him and if we can have a smooth run, then the festival is the plan.

Reflecting on last season's emotional success, Biddick, who rode a festival winner on Something Wells in 2019, added: "It was fantastic how it unfolded. His owner dreamed of having a runner at the festival and we would have been happy if he'd just got round.

"It's the Gold Cup for amateur riders and anybody with a horse who qualifies wants to go for the race – it's a dream to have a runner."

Biddick trains a number of pointers at his breaking and pre-training yard in Somerset and has won twice from three rides under rules this season, including partnering Pure Vision to victory at Ffos Las on Friday.

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