Flinteur Sacre

Nicky Henderson

This is a horse who has a long way to go to reach the heights his full-brother Sprinter Sacre scaled, but his two runs so far have been full of promise. As green as could be on his debut at Kempton, the five-year-old again showed signs of inexperience when coasting home at the second time of asking at the same venue.

His inexperience may have led connections to skip the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham, but the son of Network remains a very exciting horse for the future. His high cruising speed will no doubt be a very valuable asset in the two-mile division when he goes novice hurdling, and if he achieves even half of what his brother has done, he will go a long way.

Highway One O Two

Chris Gordon

The Chris Gordon-trained Highway One O Two capped off a three-timer in style when winning a Grade 2 at Kempton in February under Tom Cannon. Having made all, he showed a scintillating turn of foot to stretch clear from a good field. His ability to put so much ground between himself and his rivals on the run-in, despite having raced keenly, is the mark of a horse with plenty of ability.

He has already improved significantly from his bumper performances since going hurdling and it looks like there is still more to come, especially if he learns to settle and brushes up on his jumping. He looks to be a horse to keep on the right side of over the minimum distance of two miles.

King Roland

Harry Fry

An imposing of son of Stowaway, King Roland very much fits the old adage of whatever he does over hurdles will be a bonus, as fences loom large on the horizon for the six-year-old. Having won a point-to-point when under the care of the Laceys, he followed up for Harry Fry in two bumpers, debuting for the stable at Uttoxeter, a path previously taken by the ill-fated but high-class Neon Wolf, who shared the same owner and trainer.

Occupying first or second spot in his four starts over hurdles, including a second-place finish behind Harry Senior at Cheltenham’s Festival Trials Day, he remains an exciting prospect for the novice chasing category next season, a sphere where he should come into his own.

McFabulous

Paul Nicholls

Having bypassed Cheltenham, the six-year-old son of Milan ran out an impressive winner of a Grade 3 novice handicap hurdle at Kempton. He travelled powerfully throughout the contest and breezed into the lead over the second last before scoring by an ever-widening six lenghts.

A high-class bumper performer, winning three times including a hot-Grade 2 at the Aintree Festival, he remains somewhat under the radar having skipped the big festivals this year. His copy book has only been blotted twice by poor performances thus far but both of those came on what seemed unsuitably heavy ground.

McFabulous remains unbeaten on better ground and is definitely a horse to get excited about for the Ditcheat team as it is unlikely he has reached the ceiling of his abilities just yet.

Mill Green

Nicky Henderson

The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham was full of eyecatchers, none more so than the Joe Anderson-ridden Mill Green. Making a number of notable jumping errors throughout, he was last on the turn for home before slicing through the field between the last two flights, finishing a never-nearer sixth.

Beaten just over four lengths by the aptly named Indefatigable, he certainly wasn’t helped by the fall of Column Of Fire at the last and this may have cost him a finish in the places.

His previous run in the Betfair Hurdle was very disappointing, pulling up having never travelled through the race at all, but his seasonal debut beating the well regarded Eldarado Allen is useful form. Lightly raced for his age, there may still be improvement to come, he looks well capable of winning a handicap hurdle off his current mark and may benefit from a step up to three miles.

Palmers Hill

Jonjo O’Neill

Missing all of last season through injury, Palmers Hill made a very satisfactory return to action in February when going down by a neck to the Nicky Henderson-trained Downtown Getaway after a 461-day lay-off. That run has shown he retains plenty of the ability he showed in the season before last, the highlight of which was a win at the Cheltenham November meeting.

Having had only five starts on the track, there is plenty of improvement yet to come and Palmers Hill could be a horse that can land a nice handicap hurdle pot or excel over fences, depending on where connections decide to go next season. He is another horse for the recently crowned champion conditional jockey Jonjo O’Neill Jr to look forward to.

The Glancing Queen

Alan King

Having finished fifth in the 2019 Champion Bumper behind the likes of Envoi Allen, Abacadabras and Thyme Hill, The Glancing Queen went on to take Grade 2 honours at Aintree before picking up an injury that kept her out of action until last month’s Cheltenham Festival.

Ridden wide throughout this year’s renewal of the Champion Bumper, she travelled supremely well into the straight before the lack of race fitness ultimately took its toll. Having had a quiet time of it this year and with her novice status intact for next season when she will tackle hurdles, The Glancing Queen is certainly one to keep an eye on and it would be no surprise if she were to turn out to be a Grade 1-standard mare.