'We've had this race in mind since he ran at Exeter' - will Paul Nicholls land another Pendil Novices' Chase?

The Pendil was blown wide open by runaway Scilly Isles winner Nickle Back ducking Kempton. Now everyone has a fighting chance and a Grade 2 is there to be snared.

The simplistic approach is to simply back whoever Paul Nicholls runs. The top trainer has landed six of the last nine Pendils and with Tahmuras he bids for a fourth in succession.

Tahmuras is the only contender who was of Grade 1 calibre as a novice hurdler, albeit his limitations were exposed in stronger races at that level following his victory in the Tolworth.

He is getting there as a novice chaser and it is interesting he backs up just 13 days after splitting Crebilly and Trelawne at Exeter. That pair’s collateral formlines tie in with top-class novice chasers Grey Dawning and Ginny’s Destiny.

Despite the absence of popular tearaway Nickle Back, the sheer volume of prominent racers in this field is noteworthy. Tahmuras led at Exeter. Arclight and Pembroke are others who are likely to be on the premises.

A scenario where the leaders go too hard will play ideally into the hands of Blow Your Wad. The application of first-time cheekpieces and a return to this patch should be in his favour as he did not appear to be in love with Cheltenham last time in a novice handicap chase that presented us with Stage Star and Datsalrightgino in 2023.

A reproduction of the performance that saw him fend off all comers in Kempton’s equivalent to that novice handicap chase on Boxing Day could be good enough.
Race analysis by Robbie Wilders

What they say

Dan Skelton, trainer of Pembroke
It was a mess at the start last time but I thought it was a very good run and the handicapper agreed by putting him up to a career-high mark. Two and a half miles isn't a fearful distance because he won over that at Aintree and the ground won't be an issue either. He's taking on new opponents here who are probably equally adept in the conditions but you'd have to give him a chance. He's got entries at Cheltenham but we don't have anything in mind – we're just taking in nice races on soft ground.

Tom Lacey, trainer of Blow Your Wad
He's on far better terms with Le Patron than he was at Sandown in November and I'm happy to put a line through Cheltenham last time as I don't think he handled the track at all. We think he's better going right-handed and he won here in December. We've put cheekpieces back on and I hope they'll help sharpen him up a bit more during the race.

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Tahmuras
We've had this race in mind for him since he ran at Exeter the other day. He ran very well to finish second, just drifting left-handed against the running rail after the last, and we're looking forward to seeing him again.

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Arclight
She's had a great start over fences, she's really enjoyed it. She's had the advantage of the sex and age allowance, which has obviously been a big help to her. It's time for her to get more grown up and we'll see what happens.
Reporting by Maddy Playle

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