3.05 Huntingdon: the one race you cannot afford to miss on Friday

3.05 Huntingdon
Pertemps Lady Protectress Mares' Chase (Listed) | 2m4f, 5yo+ | RTV

At adjusted weights there is no more than 3lb separating four of the five runners in this valuable contest, but it's doubtful whether the market will reflect that.

When John Hales paid £320,000 for Maire Banrigh in 2017, it is fair to say he was expecting a good deal more than a couple of 30-length defeats over hurdles in her first season under rules, but a wind operation and plenty of patience has paid dividends since.

Maire Banrigh won both her hurdles outings on good ground last term – a maiden at Market Rasen and a Carlisle handicap off a lowly mark of just 112 – but she was always going to be a chaser.

After the best part of a year off, trainer Dan Skelton decided to take advantage of her revised mark in a new discipline.

The result was a 15-length success at Stratford in October off 122 and, after beating recent big handicap hurdle winner Thomas Darby in a novice at Warwick, she had another runaway success at Doncaster last month off 141 when a surprising market drifter.

Maire Banrigh may be a novice but there won't be a better jumper in the field and, as she goes from the front, she will test that element of her rivals' ability from the off.

Skelton has had a quiet time of late, with just two of his last 34 runners winning, but he bagged his 100th winner of the season on Tuesday and plenty of others have run well recently.

On official figures Casablanca Mix is the best mare in the race but that is offset by a 4lb penalty, although more worrying is her recent form.

Nicky Henderson's eight-year-old came home a 15-length winner of another Listed contest at Aintree on her return from a near five-month break in December, but in truth it was a laboured effort at odds of 4-9 and she was beaten a long way from home when fourth to Lady Buttons at Doncaster three weeks later.

She has some questions to answer, as does former high-class French juvenile hurdler Dalila Du Seuil, who looked full of promise when scoring on her British debut at Exeter last season but fell early on next time. She needs to improve on her recent fifth, where she finished 26 lengths behind Casablanca Mix, who herself was almost 30 lengths off the winner at Doncaster.

The danger therefore is almost certainly The Bay Birch, whose recent form figures of 85 don't reflect the fact she has been running in seriously competitive handicaps. She'll find this more to her liking.
Paul Kealy

What the stats say

No market leader has won this race in four runnings, with the costly reversals including Gitane Du Berlais (1-2) in 2016.

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Casablanca Mix, had a double at the last Huntingdon meeting on December 8 when Top Notch and Vegas Blue struck.

What the trainers say

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Casablanca Mix
She disappointed a bit at Doncaster last time but we'll try again. She enjoys Huntingdon and has won around there before.

Harry Fry, trainer of Dalila Du Seuil
She was a bit too exuberant on her comeback at Doncaster over Christmas and didn't give herself much chance of getting home. She'll need to step up on that if she's to be competitive.

Dan Skelton, trainer of Maire Banrigh
It looks a good race and she's up in trip, but we're very much looking forward to running her again. She made the running at Doncaster last time but doesn't have to lead and it just depends if there is any pace on. I'll leave that to Harry but this is important as it's her first crack at black type.

The Bay Birch: 'She goes there in top form,' says trainer Matt SheppardCredit: Getty Images

Matt Sheppard, trainer of The Bay Birch
Plan A was the worst Listed race of the season at Leicester last month but we are now on to Plan B, which looks one of the most competitive. I don't think she'd be able to win a handicap off her current mark so we're taking our chance, but she goes there in top form.

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