13:30 Cheltenham

Turners Novices' Chase 2023 Runners

Mighty Potter

Mighty Potter won a brace of Grade 1 novice hurdles last season and has already matched that tally over fences courtesy of victories in the Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse and the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at Leopardstown.

Gordon Elliott’s scopey gelding put in an exhibition round of jumping when defeating Tuesday’s National Hunt Chase hero Gaillard Du Mesnil and former Cheltenham Festival scorer Banbridge at Fairyhouse, and he barely broke sweat when scoring at the Dublin Racing Festival last month.

The strong travelling six-year-old possesses all of the attributes to be reach the top as a chaser and he is yet to find a rival who can test him in this sphere.

That should change tomorrow as the best that Ireland and Britain have to offer will collide, and his rivals will draw hope from his disappointing outing in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 12 months ago, which does cast some doubt over his ability to handle the track.

However, there’s no shame in being unable to lie up with the likes of Champion Hurdle hero Constitution Hill and Arkle runner-up Jonbon in a 2 mile hurdle race and I would therefore be inclined to forgive him that run.

He is certainty the most likely winner on form.

Banbridge

Many horses have used the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle as a springboard to bigger and better things and two of the 14 previous winners went on to land a Grade 1 novice chase at the following years Cheltenham Festival.

That number would be three had Galopin Des Champs deployed the landing gear at the back of the final fence in this contest last year and Banbridge will look to improve those statistics tomorrow, when he will attempt to reverse the Drinmore Novice Chase form with Mighty Potter.

Joseph O’Brien’s promising seven-year-old was noticeably outpaced in the Irish Arkle last month. However, he stayed on resolutely to claim second place and he will appreciate stepping back up in trip on the more stamina demanding new course.

Banbridge finished ahead of Dysart Dynamo and Appreciate It on that occasion and he has proven himself to be a very solid jumper, which is obviously a huge positive in novice company.

El Fabiolo gave the Irish Arkle form a boost when landing the Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy on Tuesday, which further strengthens the claims of Banbridge.

Appreciate It

2021 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle hero Appreciate It only made it to the racetrack once last season when placing sixth behind Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle. However, the lightly-raced nine-year-old always looked tailor made for fences and he won his first two starts in impressive fashion.

Those victories were achieved by a combined distance of 28 lengths and he was sent off a short priced favourite for the Irish Arkle last month. However, he looked one paced in the closing stages and was pipped on the line for second place.

Stepping up to two-and-a-half-miles looks the obvious thing to do and there is every reason to believe that it will bring about improvement. Let’s not forget that he was initially viewed as a stayer during in his novice hurdling campaign and he only went down the 2 mile route when stablemates fell by the wayside.

Appreciate It was the highest rated of these over hurdles and will be Willie Mullins’ first string, meaning that he will have the assistance of Paul Townend.

He rates another strong contender in a competitive heat.

Stage Star

Stage Star will lead the British challenge in this Grade 1 contest and he was certainly impressive when landing a competitive novice handicap over this course and distance in January.

A Grade 1 winning novice hurdler last season, Stage Star jumped from fence to fence and made virtually every yard of the running on that occasion, defying the welterweight burden of 12st in the manner of a graded horse.

Paul Nicholls’ charge failed to fire when pulled-up in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle 12 months ago. However, he is already rated 12lbs higher over fences and he remains open to further improvement after just four starts in this sphere.

Balco Coastal

Balco Coastal ran out a comfortable winner of what is traditionally a competitive novices’ handicap chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and that performance was enough to convince connections that he was worth trying in Grade 1 company.

The form of his handicap success received a boost when the runner-up, Solo, landed the Grade 2 Pendil Novices’ Chase at Kempton two weeks ago and Balco Coastal got his chance in graded company at Sandown, when chasing home Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase favourite Gerri Colombe in the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase.

There was no shame in defeat on that occasion as the form looks fairly solid with the 149 rated Thunder Rock placing third, and it demonstrated that he is capable of running well in this company.

Nicky Henderson landed this race with a Chantry House two years ago and Balco Coastal could easily outperform expectations.

James Du Berlais

James Du Berlais made the perfect start to his chasing career at Fairyhouse in January and looked as though he could be ready to fulfil the potential that he displayed in France. 

However, he was well beaten in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase at Leopardstown last month and it’s hard to envisage him faring any better in this contest.

Willie Mullins’ charge placed second behind stablemate Klassical Dream in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown last April and he naturally remains open to further improvement after just two chase starts.

However, his lack of consistency is clearly a concern and he will need to be at the top of his game in order to feature prominently in this company.

Notlongtilmay

Notlongtilmay has won his last four starts including all three of his outings over fences, which renders him an intriguing proposition heading into Grade 1 company.

However, all three chase starts have come in class 3 company and this is obviously a steep rise in class.

Unexpected Party

Unexpected Party finished third behind the aforementioned Stage Stage in a competitive novice handicap chase over this course and distance in January and he naturally remains open to further improvement.

However, it’s hard to see him featuring prominently in this company.

Christopher Wood

Christopher Wood is 0-3 over fences and hasn’t won a race of any kind since January 2021.

It’s hard to see him making his presence felt in this company.

Turners Novices' Chase 2023 Tips & Prediction

This looks a deep renewal of the Turners Novices’ Chase and the obvious starting point is Mighty Potter, who is already a dual Grade 1 winner over fences and could well be a Gold Cup horse in time.

It’s hard to knock what he has achieved this year and he is probably the one to beat. However, he faces stern opposition and may be worth opposing as a short priced favourite after disappointing in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last year.

Appreciate It was far from disgraced in a red hot renewal of the Irish Arkle last month and he looks sure to appreciate this step up in trip. However, the fast finishing BANBRIDGE was arguably the eye-catcher in that contest and he rates a solid contender on all known from.

Joseph O’Brien’s charge landed the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle at this meeting last year and he again displayed his liking for Prestbury Park when landing the Grade 2 Arkle Trial in November.

Although clearly not devoid of speed, Banbridge did become outpaced at the Dublin Racing Festival before staying on powerfully to claim second place, suggesting that he will be suited by stepping back up in trip.

Overturning the Drinmore form with Mighty Potter will not be easy. However, Banbridge is a good jumper who loves the track and possesses the perfect blend of speed and stamina for this race. While Mighty Potter has been known to make the occasional mistake and does have to prove himself at this venue.