21/01/17 Straight From The Trainers Mouth

Nicky Henderson

2.40 Haydock Lami Serge 6/4

He was unlucky not to win at Cheltenham as he just got racing too early and was doing too much coming down the hill which made me really think that he is a proper two mile horse, but we’ll learn plenty more from him after this. He goes in the soft ground and this is a good opportunity to see where we go from here. He’s in excellent shape and I expect a bold show. Funnily enough the entries for the Stan James Champion Hurdle closed this week so it seems a bit silly running a trial race after that, especially if you’re not already pre-entered, luckily we are!

★★★★☆

Paul Nicholls

1.30 Haydock Politologue 11/8

Has looked really good on both his starts over fences this season and returns to the scene of his first success in a novice chase where he jumped like a natural and won with any amount in hand. At this early stage Politologue is shaping up to be one of our stars of the future and he remains in good form at home.

★★★★☆

2.40 Haydock Irving 5/1

Not easy to train but bounced back with a spirited success in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle with the help of an enterprising ride from Harry Cobden. While I've freshened him up since then the 8lbs penalty for that triumph makes life a great deal harder for Irving.

But he goes well on testing ground and showed his liking for the course when winning the Betfair Price Rush Hurdle last season.

★★★☆☆

3.15 Haydock Virak 12/1

A thoroughly genuine horse who is handicapped to the hilt after a sequence of good runs last season. So he is not easy to place and also didn't perform to his best last time. While Virak is at his best in testing conditions and Harry Cobden takes off a handy 3lbs I'd say he faces a tough task here.

★★☆☆☆

Malcom Jefferson

1.30 Haydock Waiting Patiently 3/1

He has won his first two novice chases this season, both of which were over two miles. He did win his hurdle over 2m 3f though so we are confident the trip will suit him and we know he handles soft ground (not sure about sticky ground though!). It is undoubtably his toughest assignment to date but he is there to do his best and we will learn more about his capabilities and what level we can campaign him at by running then we will be staying at home.

★★★★☆

2.05 Haydock Master Of Finance 20/1

Master Of Finance comes next and this is also his toughest race to date. His jumps form is quite good and several horses around him have won and being placed so we know he can compete to a reasonable level. He needed his last run after a break and comes into the race well so we hope he puts in a good performance.

★★★☆☆

2.40 Haydock Cyrus Darius 9/1

Cyrus Darius comes next in the Champion Hurdle Trial having being off since September 2015 when  he suffered a tendon injury following his successful chase debut. As this leaves him no longer a novice over fences we were unsure of what route to go and decided to start back over hurdles rather then look at graduation chases. We have also given him a speculative Champion Hurdle entry as the race closed before he made his seasonal reappearance. He is in very good form at home and has schooled well on every occasion we have schooled him. Obviously he is taking on very good horses having had a lay off so we expect (hope!) he will run a big race which he will come on for. As he never continued over hurdles following bus win at Aintree we have no idea how good he is so we hope to learn more tomorrow.

★★★☆☆

4.20 Haydock Card Game 20/1

A winners of three last season she made an excellent seasonal reappearance at Market Rasen before running at Wetherby in a race that didn’t suit. She pulled up last time as though something was amiss though nothing has come to light and we hope she will get back on track tomorrow.

★★★☆☆

Aidan Coleman

1.30 Haydock Solatentif 12/1

Solatentif lines up in the Star Sports Cheltenham Preview Evening Novices' Chase. He ran well on his first start over fences this month and has some good form in the book. However, the Paul Nicholls-trained Politologue will be very hard to beat.

★★★☆☆

3.15 Haydock Alary 9/2

Alary has become a real hype horse in recent weeks but the talking stops at Haydock on Saturday. He is being talked about as a live outsider in the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup and he puts his credentials on show in the Peter Marsh Handicap Chase.

For those who don’t know his background, he’s a seven-year-old who has done all his racing in France and competed there at the very highest level. He was third in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris at Auteuil, perhaps the equivalent of the King George VI Chase over here. He clearly has top-class form in France and the big question is whether he can translate that to the UK.

I have never sat on him and I haven’t talked to his trainer Colin Tizzard seriously about him yet, but I can’t see there being any problems with him making the transition to British fences.

They have to negotiate all types of fences in France, and Auteuil, where he’s done nearly all his racing, has a big open ditch and water jump, so he’s clearly versatile. The going or distance should not be an issue, so there should be no excuses.He’s got to give weight away to all his rivals in what is a typically competitive and strong renewal and this is by no means a penalty kick. If his French form holds up then we’ll hopefully get to see what he’s all about.

★★★★☆

3.50 Haydock Suit Yourself 16/1

Suit Yourself has not completed in his two runs over fences, unseating on his first attempt and then being pulled up on his second. He runs in the Racing UK Club Day Today Handicap Chase and clearly the jury is out on his jumping but he jumps well at home and seems in good form.

★★☆☆☆