Horse racing: Zarkandar poised to show Newbury race was worth waiting for

Zarkandar has managed more than his fair share of waiting and Paul Nicholls’ aspiring star has negotiated another week of delays before he finally gets his season under way in today’s Betfair Hurdle at Newbury.

Nicholls has maintained last year’s Triumph winner is primarily being prepared for the Stan James Champion Hurdle, but a share of the £152,500 prize money on offer this afternoon would not be turned away by connections.

Ante-post favourite Zarkandar (Ruby Walsh) spearheads a three-strong team from Nicholls as he is joined by Brampour (Harry Derham) and Empire Levant (Daryl Jacob) in Britain’s richest handicap hurdle, which was rescheduled when last Saturday’s meeting was abandoned due to snow. Twenty horses have been declared for the re-run.

Nicholls said of Zarkandar: “He was unbeaten last year winning the Adonis, the Triumph and then at Aintree, and he’s on a handicap mark based on what he achieved last season.

“Whether he’s well in or not, we’ll know after this. He had a breathing operation in the summer, because he was always making a noise last year, but he had a little setback in October when he was cast in his box and missed two or three weeks work.

“I said to his owners that he wasn’t going to be ready for Christmas, so we should give him one run and go for the Champion Hurdle, which has always been our target.

“He’s done plenty of work and had a racecourse gallop but first and foremost I haven’t trained him just for Newbury. That is his prep race for the Champion Hurdle and that is when I want him at his very best for obvious reasons.”

Of Brampour, Nicholls said: “He was beaten only four lengths by Grandouet [in the International Hurdle] and he could run a really nice race and pick up some crumbs in third or fourth.

“He’s done nothing but improve this year, he’s had a break since Christmas and after this he’ll go to the Champion Hurdle with Harry keeping the ride.

“Later on I’d look at something like the Scottish Champion Hurdle. He’ll hopefully keep improving and contest all the good hurdle races next year.”

Owner JP McManus has a strong hand with Get Me Out Of Here joined by Darlan. The former, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, won the event as a novice in 2010 before finishing second to Menorah in the Supreme at Cheltenham.

Very smart on his day, the eight-year-old was only eighth here a year ago but an agonising nose runner-up in the County Hurdle and he chased home Oscar Whisky at Cheltenham last time. “I just think he needs a bit further now,” said O’Neill. “He’s very well and I’ll be entering him in races like the Martin Pipe and Coral Cup at Cheltenham. We’ll have to see how he gets on here first.”

Get Me Out Of Here, who will be tongue-tied, is the mount of promising conditional Maurice Linehan, while the owner’s retained rider Tony McCoy picks the unbeaten and Nicky Henderson-trained Darlan.

He has a very similar profile to that of Get Me Out Of Here two years ago as an unexposed type with three novice hurdle victories to his name.

Henderson has two other representatives in the shape of Soldatino, fifth last year but unraced this term, and Ericht. The latter has run well without winning novice hurdles and is 1lb out of the handicap.

Raya Star, like Soldatino, is owned by Simon Munir but comes from the stable of Alan King. The consistent performer has not appeared since his Ladbroke victory at Ascot on 17 December. “Zarkandar looks to be racing off a very lenient mark, but I also think that Raya Star can be competitive off his new rating,” the trainer told www.alankingracing.co.uk.