Can Pentland Hills buck the trends to win on Cheltenham chase bow?

Saturday: 1.45 Cheltenham
From The Horses Mouth Podcast Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices' Chase (Grade 2) | 2m | 4yo+ | ITV/RTV

Early-season novice chases don’t get much better than this. All bar outsider Fusain were rated 140-plus over hurdles and Pentland Hills is a Grade 1 winner in that discipline.

Cheltenham is a tough place to jump and only six horses have made a successful debut over fences at the track since the start of 2017. A £1 bet on all Cheltenham chasing debutants in the five-year period would have lost you £28.19.

Pentland Hills is in effect making his chasing debut. He has technically won a novice chase, but didn’t have to jump anything when walking over at Huntingdon two weeks ago.

This will be his greatest test over obstacles in over two and a half years. Since being sent off at single-figure odds in Epatante's Champion Hurdle, he has only run at Huntingdon and once on the Flat in September, when he won from a mark of 69 at Haydock.

While Tommy's Oscar was not taken quite so seriously when he ran in the Champion Hurdle, he was rated almost exactly the same in that sphere as Pentland Hills was at his peak.

Tommy’s Oscar held a hurdle rating of 156 after winning at Musselburgh on New Year's Day and was judged to have matched that on his chasing debut, when giving 17lb and a beating to Geromino in a match at Carlisle was deemed worthy of nudging up his mark by 1lb.

It’s rare that horses of his class over hurdles make better chasers, but it’s not surprising given Tommy’s Oscar is trained by Ann Hamilton and she has a 31 per cent strike-rate over fences in the last five seasons. That is six per cent higher than the 25 per cent she boasts in hurdles.

Tommy’s Oscar also won a point in Ireland when trained by Colin Bowe and his dam reached a higher level over fences than hurdles, so he has the background.

The last of the big three is still trained in Ireland by Joseph O’Brien. Banbridge was rated lower over hurdles than Pentland Hills and Tommy’s Oscar, but he won the Martin Pipe at the course last season and looked a natural over fences on his debut at Gowran Park.

He looks sure to scale greater heights over fences than hurdles and might just be the answer in a race where Glory And Fortune and Sole Pretender complete a high-class six runners.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

Tommy’s Oscar faces big test

Tommy’s Oscar, denied a golden winning opportunity by the abandonment of Carlisle on Monday, is pitched into a much tougher contest at Cheltenham.

A winner eight times from 14 starts over hurdles, those triumphs including the Grade 2 Haydock Champion Hurdle Trial last season, the highly talented seven-year-old made a pleasing debut over fences when defeating Geromino by a head in a Carlisle match last month.

Much more will be required this time, a fact acknowledged by trainer Ann Hamilton, but Tommy’s Oscar has plenty of scope for improvement at this particular discipline and it will be fascinating to see how this 155-rated hurdler fares.

“It was disappointing that Carlisle was called off on Monday because it looked a good opportunity for him,” Hamilton said.

“He’s ready for a run so we’ve decided to take him down to Cheltenham. It’s a high-class race, with some high-class trainers involved. We’ll see how he gets on.”

Plans remain fluid with a crack at Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle on the agenda later this month.

“The Fighting Fifth is an option, but if things did happen to go very well at Cheltenham then we might stay over fences with him,” Hamilton said.

What they say

Joseph O'Brien, trainer of Banbridge
He's in good form since his chase debut win and we're hoping for a good run from him. He's dropping in distance but it will be a good experience for him and give us a good idea of where we're going with him for the rest of the season.

Patrick Neville, trainer of Fusain
It’s his first run for us over fences. He actually was entered for Sedgefield the other day and we had him in the parade ring and they called off the races. The owner, over from Ireland, wondered if there was any race at Cheltenham he could run in. So we put him into the race. You never know. If you’re not in, you can’t win.

Tom Lacey, trainer of Glory And Fortune
It’s an Arkle trial and a very competitive race. However, I do think he has been slightly overlooked. He’s a good horse and has the experience from two runs over fences two years ago. He’s schooled nicely.

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Pentland Hills
It's nice to get him started over fences after his walkover at Huntingdon the other day, but this is a very hot race. That said, I've got to start him somewhere and we've got Jonbon and Balco Coastal to run in two-mile novice chases too, so you're minded to split them up. It's a big task for Pentland Hills, but his strongest suit is his jumping.
Reporting by Richard Birch

Saturday previews:

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2.55 Cheltenham: Why this intriguing jockey booking could be key to Lisnagar Oscar bouncing back

3.30 Cheltenham: 'He might lack experience but he's got the ability' - will a future star emerge?

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