Is Hamsiyann a handicap blot or will he be blown away now that he's back over hurdles?

This race could revolve around one horse, or not, because my feeling is that it is likely to go one of two ways: Hamsiyann is either going to come to the last swinging on the bridle and win as he likes or he just won’t be sighted and the finish will be fought out by the solid ones.

Hamsiyann is far from solid. He has run only four times over hurdles and is still to win, while we haven’t seen him at any track, Flat or jumps, for 190 days. But he is the one horse in the race with the potential to blow it apart – he has the X factor for Tony Martin if he shows his Flat form.

That’s because Hamsiyann is rated 91 on the Flat and was last seen chasing home reinstated Cesarewitch winner Alphonse Le Grande in the Chester Plate in May. Hamsiyann had a rotten run through from a long way off the pace and arguably should have won the race.

Even a conservative estimate would suggest Hamsiyann should be capable of bettering his Flat rating by 35lb over jumps provided he is fluent at his hurdles and that would get him to 126. He could therefore be a handicap blot running from a mark of just 111 back over hurdles.

He might not be, though. There is a chance that he simply isn’t as good over hurdles as he is on the Flat and there are plenty of tough, genuine and progressive young handicappers who look capable of taking advantage in that scenario.

Wyenot looks to be chief among them. The Henry Daly-trained mare thrashed a good field over a furlong shorter here last month and probably wants the longer trip, so might be capable of defying a 6lb rise with Sam Twiston-Davies taking over from Alice Stevens. He is 9-57 for Daly in the last five seasons.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

'He looks ready for it' - prolific Major Fortune back up in trip

Dan Skelton is always to be feared at Cheltenham, particularly in competitive handicaps, and the highly progressive Major Fortune bids for a seventh win in his last eight starts.

The versatile six-year-old has won over a range of distances and going in that time, scoring over 2m1f on heavy at Newton Abbot last month on his reappearance after showcasing his stamina at Hereford in January over 3m1½f on good.

He's come a long way since winning off a mark of 79 at Market Rasen last December, having risen 48lb in the ratings, and it's hard to know where his ceiling lies after his latest dominant success.

Skelton said: "He's going back up in trip after winning over two miles and a furlong last time. He's progressive and we've been delighted with him since. It's a big step up in grade but he looks ready for it."

What they say

Ben Pauling, trainer of Champagne Twist
He's in very good order and we've had this race in mind for his reappearance for some time. Although he has won on soft ground, he's a light-framed horse who should handle these conditions. We hope he can continue the progress he showed last season.

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Fire Flyer
He’s ready but just needs some ease in the ground. I pulled him out at Ascot two weeks ago owing to concerns about the ground. I like him and it wouldn’t surprise me if he ran very well.

Olly Murphy, trainer of Long Draw
He looks as though he's improving. He hasn't won this season but he's put up some creditable efforts in defeat and I hope he has a good each-way chance.

Martin Keighley, trainer of Mikimoto
It’s a step up in class. The ground was really heavy at Stratford last time and he didn’t handle it. Hopefully he'll run well at a big price.
Reporting by Conor Fennelly

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