'We like him a lot' - can future Gold Cup horse Kalif Du Berlais live up to his lofty reputation?

Soldatino and Zarkandar won this race in consecutive seasons from 2010-11 before landing the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham the following month, but 13 years have passed without another doing the double, so can Paul Nicholls, the man who saddled Zarkandar, end the wait?

Nicholls saddles two of the six in the line-up and the most exciting is the unbeaten Kalif Du Berlais, but the trainer stressed that the Triumph wouldn’t be in his plans after his British debut success at this track last month. Kalif Du Berlais is prominent in the Triumph betting, though.

The reason Nicholls is keen to miss the Triumph is because he sees Kalif Du Berlais as a Gold Cup horse of the future, rather than a speedy juvenile for now, but the trainer did say that “all options are open” and there isn’t an outstanding four-year-old in Ireland this year.

It will be interesting to see whether Nicholls changes his tune and considers a crack at the festival should Kalif Du Berlais run away with this Grade 2, especially as he jumped to his left when scoring here last month and should be suited by Cheltenham’s left-handed course.

Nicholls’ other runner, Swift Hawk, doesn’t hold an entry at the festival and that evidently points to him being the second string under Lorcan Williams, so maybe Kalif Du Berlais’s biggest danger will be Givemefive, trained by Nicholls’ nephew Harry Derham.

A Flat winner on his final start for Johnny Murtagh in Ireland, Givemefive has won both starts over hurdles since joining Derham and recorded a smart time when winning by 18 lengths at Warwick last month. That gives him the edge on Kalif Du Berlais on Topspeed.

Givemefive: an 18-length winner at Warwick last monthCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

The final word goes to Captain Marvellous, trained by Jane Williams, who does well with juvenile hurdlers. Captain Marvellous needs to improve to compete with Kalif Du Berlais and Givemefive, but did win by 23 lengths over course and distance last time and is the unknown quantity.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Kalif Du Berlais and Swift Hawk
Kalif Du Berlais won quite a valuable race on his debut in France, which is why he's got a 5lb penalty, but he carried an 8lb penalty when he ran last time and he seems to have come forward since then. I'm looking forward to seeing him run. He's in the Triumph and it depends on what the owners want to do. We like him a lot. We'll know more after this. Swift Hawk should improve. Whether he wants this ground or not I don't know, but I'm open-minded. It's a big step up in class for him.

Chester Williams, assistant to Jane Williams, trainer of Captain Marvellous
This has been the plan for a while. The ground will be worse than we were hoping for but he handles Kempton very well. It's a step up for him but he couldn't have won any easier the other day. He's probably our biggest juvenile and he's a long-term prospect, but he deserves to take his shot.

Harry Derham, trainer of Givemefive
His Warwick run hasn't really worked out that well, but he couldn't have done more than he did. He seems adaptable and stays quite well, but he's got to go and step up now.

Josh Moore, assistant to Gary Moore, trainer of Peking Opera
He won nicely first time at Sandown and I think he’s come forward from that. I loved the look of Kalif Du Berlais when I saw him at Kempton and I think he’ll be tough to beat and Givemefive won well at Warwick, so it won’t be easy.
Reporting by Charlie Huggins

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