THE weights are unveiled today for the £250,000 G3 Ladbrokes Trophy, the highlight of the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday, December 2nd.

Topping the weights on 11st 12lb is the 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Coneygree (Mark Bradstock, 16/1 with Ladbrokes). A half-brother to 2011 Ladbrokes Trophy hero Carruthers, Coneygree was pulled-up on his seasonal reappearance in the G2 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on November 4th when sustaining an overreach but connections have subsequently revealed that the Ladbrokes Trophy could be a target for the 10-year-old. Second in the weights on 11st 11lb is Smad Place (Alan King, 20/1), winner of the Ladbrokes Trophy in 2015 and right back to form when successful in the G2 Old Roan Chase at Aintree on October 29th.

Sharing favouritism at 8/1 with Ladbrokes are American (Harry Fry, 11st 4lb), who was impressive in winning all three of his starts last season and Total Recall (Willie Mullins IRE, 10st 8lb), successful in the JT McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National Handicap Chase at Limerick on October 8th. Willie Mullins, Ireland's champion Jump trainer, could also be represented by Acapella Bourgeois (10st 12lb, 16/1), a Group 2 scorer last season for former trainer Sandra Hughes plus Childrens List (10st 9lb, 33/1), Pleasant Company (10st 9lb, 33/1) and Polidam (9st 13lb).

Noel Meade is considering a tilt at the race with A Genie In Abottle (10st 13lb, 20/1). The progressive six-year-old, who is owned by Gigginstown House Stud, was a talented novice last season and ended the campaign with a good third behind stablemate Disko in a Group 1 contest at the Punchestown Festival.

A Genie In Abottle has a 100% record from two starts this season, most recently defeating Tiger Roll (Gordon Elliott IRE, 10st 13lb, 25/1) by a length and a half in a listed contest over just shy of three miles at Wexford on October 30th.

Meade said today: "The Ladbrokes Trophy is a possibility for A Genie In Abottle and I certainly wouldn't rule it out, but I will have to discuss it with the owners.

"He has come out of Wexford good, so we will see how he is between now and Newbury and see what we think.

"He likes soft ground and looks to have the right sort of profile for the Ladbrokes Trophy."

Ladbrokes Trophy - Ladbrokes prices: 8/1 American, Total Recall; 12/1 Singlefarmpayment, Whisper; 16/1 Acapella Bourgeois, Coneygree, Definitly Red; 20/1 A Genie In Abottle , Alpha des Obeaux, O O Seven, Smad Place, Yala Enki; 25/1 Beware The Bear, Emerging Force, Mala Beach, Missed Approach, Polidam, Southfield Royale, Tiger Roll, Virgilio, Vyta du Roc.

Deadline

There is a scratchings deadline for the Ladbrokes Trophy on November 14th, with the five-day confirmation stage on Monday, November 27th.

The inaugural Ladbrokes Winter Carnival featuring the Ladbrokes Trophy, formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup, takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd December 2017. The new sponsorship from Ladbrokes brings with it a larger prize pot for this year's contenders with the two days now worth a total of £700,000 in prize money. The Ladbrokes Trophy alone has prize money of £250,000, an increase of £50,000 on 2016.

Since the handicap chase was first run as the Hennessy Gold Cup in 1957, it has become one of the major highlights of the jump season with so many memorable performances over the last 60 years from the likes of Mill House, Arkle, Denman, Many Clouds and last year's impressive winner, Native River.

The Ladbrokes Trophy

Grade 3 handicap chase, £250,000 total prize fund. Newbury, Saturday, December 2. Three miles and two furlongs (3m 1f 214y).

Horse Age Wgt Owner Trainer

CONEYGREE 10 11-12 The Max Partnership Mark Bradstock

SMAD PLACE (FR) 10 11-11 Mrs Peter Andrews Alan King

DEFINITLY RED (IRE) 8 11-05 Mr P J Martin Brian Ellison

SIZING CODELCO (IRE) 8 11-05 Ann & Alan Potts Limited Colin Tizzard

AMERICAN (FR) 7 11-04 The Jago Family Partnership Harry Fry

WHISPER (FR) 9 11-04 Walters Plant Hire Ltd Nicky Henderson

PTIT ZIG (FR) 8 11-03 Barry Fulton & Chris Giles Paul Nicholls

CAROLE'S DESTRIER 9 11-01 Mrs C Skipworth Neil Mulholland

SHANTOU FLYER (IRE) 7 11-01 Carl Hinchy Richard Hobson

THEATRE GUIDE (IRE) 10 11-01 Jean Bishop Colin Tizzard

TRAFFIC FLUIDE (FR) 7 11-00 Galloping On The South Downs Partnership Gary Moore

LABEL DES OBEAUX (FR) 6 11-00 David Sewell & Terry Warner Alan King

VIEUX LION ROUGE (FR) 8 10-13 Prof Caroline Tisdall & Mr John Gent David Pipe

PERFECT CANDIDATE (IRE) 10 10-13 ISL Recruitment Fergal O'Brien

LORD SCOUNDREL (IRE) 8 10-13 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE

TIGER ROLL (IRE) 7 10-13 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE

O O SEVEN (IRE) 7 10-13 Christopher Hanbury Nicky Henderson

A GENIE IN ABOTTLE (IRE) 6 10-13 Gigginstown House Stud Noel Meade IRE

ACAPELLA BOURGEOIS (FR) 7 10-12 Slaneyville Syndicate Willie Mullins IRE

YALA ENKI (FR) 7 10-12 Hills of Ledbury (Aga) Venetia Williams

VICENTE (FR) 8 10-11 Trevor Hemmings Paul Nicholls

ROAD TO RICHES (IRE) 10 10-11 Gigginstown House Stud Noel Meade IRE

REGAL ENCORE (IRE) 9 10-11 J P McManus Anthony Honeyball

DOUBLE TREASURE 6 10-11 Sir Chips Keswick Jamie Snowden

ALPHA DES OBEAUX (FR) 7 10-11 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE

ROI DES FRANCS (FR) 8 10-11 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE

MALA BEACH (IRE) 9 10-10 C Jones Gordon Elliott IRE

ROYAL VACATION (IRE) 7 10-10 Mrs Jean R Bishop Colin Tizzard

VIRGILIO (FR) 8 10-10 C J Edwards, D Futter, A H Rushworth Dan Skelton

AS DE MEE (FR) 7 10-10 The Stewart Family & Judi Dench Paul Nicholls

CHILDRENS LIST (IRE) 7 10-09 Susannah Ricci Willie Mullins IRE

PLEASANT COMPANY (IRE) 9 10-09 Malcolm Denmark Willie Mullins IRE

TOTAL RECALL (IRE) 8 10-08 Slaneyville Syndicate Willie Mullins IRE

SINGLEFARMPAYMENT 7 10-08 N T Griffith & H M Haddock Tom George

DOUBLE ROSS (IRE) 11 10-08 Options O Syndicate Nigel Twiston-Davies

OUR KAEMPFER (IRE) 8 10-07 Swanee River Partnership Charlie Longsdon

BEWARE THE BEAR (IRE) 7 10-07 G B Barlow Nicky Henderson

MISSED APPROACH (IRE) 7 10-06 Alan & Andrew Turner Warren Greatrex

THUNDER AND ROSES (IRE) 9 10-06 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE

BIGBADJOHN (IRE) 8 10-05 Nigel Morris Rebecca Curtis

CHAMPERS ON ICE (IRE) 7 10-04 Professor Caroline Tisdall & Bryan Drew David Pipe

KILCARRY BRIDGE (IRE) 10 10-04 Darraugh's Choice Syndicate John Ryan IRE

PRESENT MAN (IRE) 7 10-03 Woodhouse & Sutton Paul Nicholls

GENERAL PRINCIPLE (IRE) 8 10-02 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE

VYTA DU ROC (FR) 8 10-01 Simon Munir & Isaac Souede Nicky Henderson

WOUNDED WARRIOR (IRE) 8 10-00 Gigginstown House Stud Noel Meade IRE

VIC DE TOUZAINE (FR) 8 10-00 A Brooks & G Moore Venetia Williams

BRAQUEUR D'OR (FR) 6 10-00 Corsellis & Seyfried Paul Nicholls

FLINTHAM 8 10-00 The Rasher Partnership Mark Bradstock

COGRY 8 10-00 Graham and Alison Jelley Nigel Twiston-Davies

EMERGING FORCE (IRE) 7 9-13 Webb Holt Carpenter Tucker Harry Whittington

POTTERS LEGEND 7 9-13 Mrs J May Lucy Wadham

POLIDAM (FR) 8 9-13 Simon Munir/Isaac Souede Willie Mullins IRE

SOUTHFIELD ROYALE 7 9-13 Angela Yeoman Neil Mulholland

PILGRIMS BAY (IRE) 7 9-12 Clifford, Gosden & House Neil Mulholland

ROGUE ANGEL (IRE) 9 9-10 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris IRE

DARK FLAME (IRE) 8 9-08 The Encore Partnership III Richard Rowe

VINO GRIEGO (FR) 12 9-08 C E Stedman Gary Moore

VALUE AT RISK 8 9-06 D M Huglin Dan Skelton

ANTONY (FR) 7 9-05 The Winning Hand Gary Moore

60 entries

17 Irish-trained