Why in-form Fergal O'Brien 'holds the key' to competitive handicap hurdle

Friday: 3.35 Newbury
Play Ladbrokes 1-2-Free On Football Handicap Hurdle | 3m | 4yo+ | RTV/ITV3

Punters get the chance to warm up for Saturday's showpiece Ladbrokes Trophy with a highly competitive 15-runner handicap hurdle. Although it's fiendishly difficult, there's no denying how attractive this betting heat is with the majority of bookmakers offering five places and going 9-2 the field.

Fergal O'Brien, who has saddled 12 winners and 13 placed finishers from 47 runners in the last fortnight, holds the key to this race with course-and-distance winner Polish and new recruit Eyeofthescorpion.

Stable jockey Paddy Brennan has opted for Eyeofthescorpion, who made the move to O'Brien's base along with former trainer Graeme McPherson last month and caught the eye when second to a well-handicapped rival at Ffos Las. The pair drew 26 lengths clear in the mud and he appears fortunate to remain on a mark of 122.

He must be reasonably treated if Brennan chose him over Polish, who has recorded his two best efforts on his only two starts at Newbury. Jumping isn't his strong suit, but he relishes the long home straight here and will be finishing fast under the promising Connor Brace.

Paddy Brennan: rides EyeofthescorpionCredit: Edward Whitaker

Polish was last seen crossing the line three places behind the reopposing One For You, who boasts form figures of 113 since being sent handicapping. The up-and-coming hurdler tends to jump to his right but remains well handicapped and shouldn't be overlooked.

Recent winning form is brought to the table by Alrightjack and Certainly Red, both of whom scrape in at the foot of the weights. Alrightjack has been largely campaigned at shorter trips and should improve now that he's stepped up to 3m, while Certainly Red is in search of a hat-trick after comfortable victories at lower levels.

Others worthy of interest at bigger prices are Saint Sonnet, Slate House and Shannon Bridge. Although they may appear regressive, if any of the three reproduce their best form then they would be a major player in a wide-open handicap hurdle.
Race analysis by Tom Collins

Fuller aiming for family first

Charlotte Fuller will be hoping to make an unforgettable start to her training career in the professional ranks as she saddles her first runner in Skandiburg, who will be ridden by her daughter Page.

Fuller, a well-regarded point-to-point trainer, took the plunge to take out her professional licence earlier this year, but was not expecting to have her first runner in front of the ITV cameras at the track her yard is based just 15 minutes away from.

She said: "I love grassroots point-to-pointing and it's my comfort zone, but I would never be able to have Page ride our horses if I stuck there.

"I had hoped we would have been dropping in under the radar at somewhere like Fontwell or Plumpton, not on such a premier weekend!"

Skandiburg's appearance in this sphere was also an unexpected detour from the original plan, having been bought out of Jamie Snowden's yard earlier this year.

Fuller added: "We originally had a plan to go pointing with him but it's too quick at the moment. I've not trained a horse of this calibre before so it's unknown territory. He's been with us six months so we don't know much about him yet. It's a learning exercise, but it made sense to run him."

What they say

Dan Skelton, trainer of Shannon Bridge
The ground won't be soft enough but it'll be safe ground. We've got them to run and we'll run him. He's grand but he's going to need much slower ground in the winter, I'm sure of that.

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Saint Sonnet
He was a bit disappointing the last day and hopefully has improved – I've got a feeling he might need another run, though – he just hasn't hit form yet. He will do soon, though, and we've put the blinkers on to sharpen his jumping up.

Philip Hobbs, trainer of Dolphin Square, Umndeni and One For You
Dolphin Square is consistent and ran really well on his seasonal return back over hurdles last time, but might need softer ground. Umndeni had a good summer but the ground for him might be on the softer side. One For You ran very well at Newbury on his first run back, so we hope he can go a bit better from that.

Jamie Snowden, trainer of Alrightjack
He won very nicely the last day and the step up to three miles is what he needs now – he didn't quite stay when we tried him at it two years ago. He had back surgery in the summer so to win first time out was a fair performance.
Reporting by Matt Rennie

Friday's race previews:

12.40 Newbury: Who can follow Denman and Bobs Worth's lead by landing Grade 2 novice chase?

1.15 Newbury: 'You can argue Jonbon should not even be favourite' - get Paul Kealy's view

1.50 Newbury: 'We've always seen him as a chaser' - smart Boothill starts out over fences

2.25 Newbury: Grade 1 fourth Fanion D'Estruval out to bag competitive handicap off top weight

3.00 Newbury: 'This is an important race' - Paisley Park plan to be determined by Newbury run

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