Patrick Neville nominates Stayers' Hurdle as potential target for 100-1 shot after handicap success in Kempton finale

Being bold provided trainer Patrick Neville with the biggest day of his career in March when The Real Whacker made all of the running to win the Grade 1 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Having enjoyed success by aiming high before, Neville is eager to do the same with Mahons Glory, with the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle nominated as the desired target following his victory under Sam Twiston-Davies in the 2m5f handicap hurdle.

“I think he’s a graded horse and I’m not sure the three-mile hurdling division is that deep and he’d be rated high enough to be thinking about those sorts of races,” Neville said. “The horses that ran at Ascot the other day were mostly quite old, so I think that’s where I’d like to take him.”

Paddy Power introduced Mahons Glory into the betting for the Stayers’ Hurdle at 100-1.

Family bragging rights

There was a different kind of family tension over Christmas dinner in Ditcheat as trainers Paul Nicholls and Harry Derham sat down for turkey before preparing to take on each other at Kempton the following day.

Derham is the nephew and former assistant to Nicholls, but was able to get one over on his uncle when Court In The Act held on from Onethreefivenotout in the 2m maiden hurdle.

“We had Christmas dinner together yesterday and Paul said we’d lead into the second last and then he’d come past us and win,” Derham said. “This horse is getting better all the time and Paul O’Brien, who rode him today, has done loads of work on his jumping. 

“When he needed it most at the last hurdle his jumping was great and I was just hoping that what Paul said wasn’t going to come true. Thankfully we held on and it’s a great win for everyone.”

Festival ambitions

The Cheltenham Festival awaits Blow Your Wad after his victory under Stan Sheppard in the 2m4½f novice handicap chase, but which race – and his route to the meeting – are up in the air according to trainer Tom Lacey.

Lacey said: “All the way down the straight I thought he would win. He’s a lovely horse for the future and there’s no doubt his owners [Jerry Hinds and Ashley Head] will want him to go to Cheltenham. How we get there and what race we run in is for another day though.”

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