'The plan is to get him in the Pertemps' - who is after a festival springboard?

Friday: 4.05 Newbury
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The key form here could be the course-and-distance race in which Coeur De Lion and Risk And Roll were second and fourth last month. They reoppose with Risk And Roll on 1lb better terms.

That event was run in the third slowest per-furlong time on the card and might lead some to question whether it will prove to be so significant. However, the slow time is no surprise because many staying hurdles tend to be slowly run, with a sprint finish often key to victory.

So was it Coeur De Lion or Risk And Roll who had the best sprint finish in that race? According to Course Track sectionals published on racingtv.com it was Risk And Roll, who completed the last four furlongs in a time 0.15secs quicker than Coeur De Lion managed.

That equates to just over half a length in Risk And Roll’s favour and it suggests that, if they had both made their challenge from the same place, Risk And Roll would have finished ahead. There is a big ‘if’ involved, of course, but there is a good chance he reverses places.

It’s possible that might not prove the key form, though, and if that is the case then maybe Stellar Magic could cause a minor upset for Philip Hobbs, who fits first-time cheekpieces.

Stellar Magic beat Alaphilippe, who is favourite for the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham with several firms, just over a year ago at Taunton but he has failed to build on a promising seasonal reappearance at Haydock in December recently, putting in two lacklustre efforts.

However, Hobbs is 6-23 (26 per cent) with runners sporting cheekpieces for the first time, for a £1 level-stake profit of £12.25. That gives hope he can recapture his best in new headgear.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

Alan King trainer of Who Dares Wins and Coeur De Lion
Who Dares Wins is really well after his back-to-form third under a big weight at Huntingdon and he will be seen to better effect on this more galloping track. The Challenger Series final is his aim. Coeur De Lion seems in good order after his course-and-distance second last month and I'd also like to get him qualified for the Haydock final.

Philip Hobbs, trainer of Stellar Magic
He was running on well at the finish at Wincanton last time so we’ve gone for the cheekpieces which hopefully will sharpen him up. If they get any further rain it won’t bother him.

James Evans, trainer of Risk And Roll
The plan is to get him into the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham but he may have to go up a bit in the handicap. The only negative is if they have a lot of rain then we probably wouldn’t run him.

Alex Hales, trainer of Solo Saxophone
He’s a new horse to us and has settled in nicely. The plan is to get him qualified for the Challenger Final at Haydock although he wouldn’t want the ground to be too testing.

Oliver Sherwood, trainer of Guerlain De Vaux
It’s says he was taken out for the ground last time but that is misleading as he got worked up in the box on the way over which isn’t like him. He’ll enjoy the track more than Market Rasen and Catterick and any further rain won’t bother him. There aren’t many races for two-time winners but he’s definitely an embryonic chaser.
Reporting by David Milnes

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