'We’ve been missing one like this for a while' - Ben Pauling eyes top spring festivals with 'exceptional' The Jukebox Man

Ben Pauling believes The Jukebox Man can be the stable flag bearer this season after his successful transition to fences in the Grade 2 John Francome Novice Chase.

Owned by Harry Redknapp, the six-year-old has now won four of his eight starts and ended last term with second-place finishes in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett and Sefton Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham and Aintree.

When asked of The Jukebox Man’s quality, Pauling said: "I always thought I hadn’t had one as good as Barters Hill. He was an exceptional talent and I think this lad might be the same. It’s massive for the yard and we’ve been missing one like this for a while.

"At home he’s as slow as a hearse, but on the track he finds another gear. He’s the sort of horse I could go to Cheltenham, Punchestown and Aintree if I wanted because he’s hard of nails. We’re not going to fall into a trap of not running a good horse. Maybe he’s the one we can campaign properly and go wherever we want to go.

Pauling added: "It leaves Kempton on the cards, but there are other options. I don’t know about going up to three miles and then back to two and a half. I’m not saying I’ll do it, but maybe there’s something in Ireland."

Paddy Power cut The Jukebox Man to 12-1 (from 25s) for the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Regent's Stroll 'one of the best'

Regent's Stroll jumps the final flight to win the 2m maiden hurdle at NewburyCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Paul Nicholls has trained plenty of stars over the years, but the 14-time champion trainer hailed Regent's Stroll as one of the best after he emphatically maintained his 100 per cent record.

The five-year-old, who was purchased for £660,000 at the Goffs UK Summer sales in summer, overcame a slight mistake at the second-last to power nine and a half lengths clear of Good And Clever in the opening 2m½f maiden hurdle.

Owned by a partnership that includes Sir Alex Ferguson and Ged Mason, Regent's Stroll justified his hefty price tag and has Nicholls considering next month’s Grade 1 Challow Hurdle at the track as a potential target.

He said: "He's as good a young horse we've had in a long time. We've seen what he can do at home and what he did in his bumpers. How far he can go, who knows?

"It's a long way off before I decide what we do with him. I was going to run him in the Challow, but we've also got Quebecois in that. I don't want to run two of them against each other, but I was thinking about the race and I probably still am."

Paddy Power cut Regent's Stroll to 16-1 (from 25-1) for the Turners Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Kalif Du Berlais carried the same colours to complete a double for connections in the 2m½f novice handicap chase.

After winning for the owners again, Nicholls said: "They’ve invested between them all and they’ve got some beautiful horses for the future. It’s my job to make sure I do the right thing with them. They have a right team of horses now. 

"Good horses are going to cost a lot of money and it’s a big ask trying to get one person to buy them, so if you have five or six people then you have some ammunition. We don’t want to be losing these horses at the sales and they all deserve the success they have had."

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