Turf Talk: Monviel looking good for the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury

There is some great racing at Newbury on Saturday where the Betfair Hurdle is the feature race.
Monviel in action at Ascot last year. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty ImagesMonviel in action at Ascot last year. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Monviel in action at Ascot last year. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

This event is steeped in history. First run in 1963, when sponsored by Schweppes, it was won by Rosyth who went on to win again the very next year. He was trained by Ryan Price who famously trained Hill House to victory in 1967.

This race was shrouded in controversy as the horse tested positive for a banned drug. However it was later proved that Hill House actually produced his own Cortisol.

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Despite being a handicap, the winner invariably turns out to be better than a ‘handicapper’, with both Persian War (1968) and Make A Stand (1997) going on to win the Champion Hurdle.

Six-year-olds have won five of the last 10 runnings and one of that age who catches my eye is Monviel. He looked a stronger horse this year when winning at Ascot on his seasonal debut. His trainer, Philip Hobbs, has never won this race but this grey gelding just may help him break his duck.

The Irish pair of Filey Bay and Icare Allen look his biggest dangers and could give some indication of the dominance to come by Irish horses at the Cheltenham Festival.

The two big chases on the Newbury card can fall to champion trainer Paul Nicholls. He runs Greaneteen in the Game Spirit Chase and Hitman in the Denman Chase.

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Both are probably not good enough to win their designated targets at the Festival, but these two races carry a lot of prize-money and are prestigious enough in their own right.

Love Envoi has her final prep race for the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival at Warwick on Saturday, one of three televised races from that track.

Her trainer, Harry Fry, will be honing her training to have her fit in four weeks time so she may be worth taking on with locally trained West Balboa.

Garlick’s Goodies: Saturday Newbury 2.25 – Hitman; 3.00 – Greaneteen; 3.35 – Monviel; Warwick 2.05 – West Balboa.