Looking Back at the Weekend's Top Action!

Haydock's feature race on Saturday was the three-and-a-half-mile Grand National Trial which was won for the second year running by Silver By Nature. Silver By Nature produced a career-best effort to defy a mark 6 lb higher than for last season's success, and looks a leading contender for the Grand National itself. He is a 19.0 shot for that race at present and his chance will only be enhanced if conditions at Aintree come up testing.

Perhaps the most interesting race at Haydock was the three-mile Prestige Novices' Hurdle which was won by Howard Johnson's Back In Focus, who ran to a level of form you rarely see from a hurdling debutant to lower the colours of Court In Motion. Back In Focus takes over from that rival as favourite for the Albert Bartlett (Spa) Novices' Hurdle at the Festival, and looks a tremendous staying prospect. Court In Motion shaped as if he was just stretched by conditions, but wasn't too far below form in the end, and remains a contender for the Festival.

The staying hurdlers were also in action at Haydock in the Grade 2 Rendlesham Hurdle, in which Cross Kennon maintained his progressive profile, outstaying Bensalem to record a six-length success. Cross Kennon will presumably have a crack at the World Hurdle next before going novice chasing next season. Bensalem will reportedly revert to fences now for the Festival Handicap Chase on the Wednesday of Cheltenham, for which he is the 8.0 favourite.

The other race of note at Haydock was the Victor Ludorum juvenile hurdle in which Houblon des Obeaux battled back to beat Third Intention. The winner's Triumph Hurdle bid reportedly depends on whether conditions are sufficiently testing at Cheltenham, though the runner-up arguably shaped best anyway, and probably has more to offer when getting a well-run race. At 22.0, Third Intention is a lively outsider for the Triumph. 

The Betfair Ascot Chase hasn't always proved the best contested of Grade 1 events, though this year's renewal was well up to standard, and in beating Gauvain by 10 lengths Riverside Theatre produced a performance surpassed in the recent history of the race only by 2008 winner Kauto Star. Riverside Theatre stands among the leading form contenders for the Ryanair at the Festival, and is now the second favourite at 7.2, though unlike the favourite Poquelin (5.2) Riverside Theatre needs to prove his effectiveness on the track having jumped less than fluently in last season's Arkle.

Gauvain beat the rest convincingly and will presumably also have the Ryanair on his agenda. He will be no forlorn hope for a place there judged on his Ascot effort, with his good course record a positive in that respect. So far as those that finished further behind are concerned, Big Fella Thanks ran a somewhat eye-catching race with a view to the Grand National, though that impression is mitigated to an extent by his apparent failure to stay the two previous times he has run at Aintree. The race was marred by the fatal injuries suffered by Pride of Dulcote in a fall at the eighth fence.

The Grade 2 Reynoldstown Novices' Chase at Ascot was billed as a straight shootout between Master of The Hall and The Minack, representing Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls respectively, and it may well have developed that way but for a bad mistake by The Minack at the fourteenth. That left the door open for Master of The Hall to register a smooth success and he is clearly a smart chaser in the making. That said, his form as things stand is some way short of what the principals can offer for his next target, the RSA Chase, and he is a 19.0 shot for that race at the time of writing.

Master of The Hall wasn't the only Nicky Henderson horse with Festival pretensions seen out at Ascot on Saturday, as Sprinter Sacre made it two from three over hurdles with victory in the two-mile novice on the card. Sprinter Sacre didn't need to improve to land short odds in a falsely run race, but clearly still has a good deal of potential and must rate as a leading contender for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, for which he is the 10.0 third favourite behind Cue Card and his stablemate Spirit Son.

Another performance of note at Ascot came courtesy of Sonofvic and Tornado Bob, who fought out the finish to the two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdle, with the former just prevailing. Both are good prospects, and though Sonofvic doesn't have a Festival entry, Tornado Bob is no forlorn hope for either the Spa or the Baring Bingham, the big prices currently available about him for either of those races not doing justice to his chance on form.

The third of Saturday's jumps cards in Britain took place at Wincanton, where the highlight was the Kingwell Hurdle. Mille Chief won the race and is now on track for the Champion Hurdle, though he was arguably fortunate to do so after the runner-up Celestial Halo hit the last, and will head to the Festival with only outside claims for the Champion.

Mille Chief's stablemate Smad Place may prove a stronger contender to give Alan King a winner over timber at the Festival after he got back to winning ways in the two-mile juvenile hurdle at Wincanton. He is a 12.5 shot for the Triumph Hurdle, and looks open to further improvement. The runner-up Jump City does not have a Triumph entry, but he confirmed himself a good prospect on his hurdling debut in pulling a long way clear of the third with Smad Place.

There were meetings in Ireland on Saturday and Sunday and the most interesting horse seen out there was probably Dunguib, who made a winning return to action in the Red Mills Trial Hurdle at Gowran Park on Saturday. Dunguib told us little new about him in landing the odds in a three-runner race, but still shortened up for the Champion Hurdle and is now a 15.5 shot for that race. Strictly judged on form, there are plenty of likely runners in the Champion that have achieved more than Dunguib to date.