'He's very exciting and he's made to be a chaser' - top prospects meet in novice chase with a high-class roll of honour

This race has thrown up any number of top-class horses. Even in the last ten years, there have been individual winners of the Gold Cup, King George and Welsh Grand National on the roll of honour. So could there be another star among the six-strong line-up this season?

Paul Nicholls was responsible for the King George winner, having landed it with the dual Kempton hero Clan Des Obeaux in 2016, and this year his representative is Captain Teague.

On paper, Captain Teague's sole chase start was a winning one, but he didn't have to jump a fence when walking over at Exeter on that occasion. It will be fascinating to see how he takes to chasing; two of his half-brothers were winning chasers, so he is bred for it.

His finest hour last year came at this course when he landed the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle over Christmas, and Nicholls must be confident in his jumping to get him going for real here.

He was 54 lengths behind The Jukebox Man when they met in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham in March, though, and the Ben Pauling-trained runner is rated 6lb higher.

Pauling won this with another of his stable stars, Willoughby Court, back in 2017 and The Jukebox Man is arguably just as much of an exciting prospect for chasing as that horse was.

The Jukebox Man was a length and three-quarters behind Captain Teague in the Challow here in December, so the score is even at 1-1 between them, and it may come down to who jumps best. The Jukebox Man won a point in Ireland, so he should be fluent enough to get the job done.

Johnnywho, Masaccio and Boombawn are all chase winners and Masaccio's win came over course and distance. However, Johnnywho is the lesser exposed and he saw off the other runner, Bugise Seagull, on his chasing debut at Carlisle. He is the main danger to the big two.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

Is it time for Teague to shine?

It is later than expected, but Captain Teague will finally jump fences in public for the first time as he bids to stamp his claims as one of Britain's leading novice chasers with Grade 2 glory.

The Paul Nicholls-trained six-year-old already has a victory next to his name this season in what was meant to be his chasing bow at Exeter, but the quick conditions meant all of his rivals were withdrawn to leave him with a walkover.

Captain Teague heads for home in the Challow Hurdle

Captain Teague: won last year's Challow HurdleCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

He returns to the scene of his greatest triumph when landing the Challow Novices' Hurdle last term.

Nicholls said: "He's really exciting. He was really impressive in the Challow last season, and hopefully the ground stays on the softer side too. This looks like a really good, competitive contest and he's jumping fences for the first time in a race, but we're confident he'll cope with it."

What they say

Dan Skelton, trainer of Boombawn
The track will be no problem. He carries a penalty, and it's going to be harder than what he's faced before, but we've got to have a go.

Charlie Longsdon, trainer of Bugise Seagull
It looks a very strong race, but he's got as good hurdles form as any of them. His first run over fences was good, when it turned into a bit of a sprint, and he's learning all the time. He's got some proper Grade 1 form in the book and can mix it with his rivals.

Jonjo O'Neill, joint-trainer of Johnnywho
He won very well on his debut over fences at Carlisle and this looks the right race for him. He goes there with a strong shout.

Alan King, trainer of Masaccio
We were delighted with him on his chasing debut. He's worked away well since and it could be a hot race, but we think it's the right thing to do.

Ben Pauling, trainer of The Jukebox Man
He's in fabulous form. He's going to improve for the run but this looks a good place to start off. It'll be the liveliest ground he's run on, but he jumps and travels well. He's very exciting and he's made to be a chaser.
Reporting by Matt Rennie