The Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Wensleydale Juvenile Hurdle

Several of the possible runners have form together from the early part of the season, with Mister Allegro having beaten Genuflex by 1¾ lengths on debut at Ludlow, in a race in which Saint Riquier finished a further 3¾ lengths back in fourth. Anthony Honeyball’s son of Bernardini has improved considerably for switching codes – having been rated just 50 on the level – and followed up in taking fashion at Wincanton on Sunday. He made all and jumped impeccably on that occasion, and if turned out again quickly, should not be underestimated. Genuflex advertised the Ludlow form when going one place better and winning by 17 lengths at Sedgefield last week, albeit in a much weaker race, whilst Saint Riquier made a mistake at the final flight, so could well have finished a little closer to front two.

Sacre Pierre could represent the in-form Donald McCain stable and he has won both starts to date. After coming from behind to beat Keepyourdreamsbig at Uttoxeter, he made it two-from-two at Cartmel in late-August. The Olly Murphy-trained runner-up got off the mark at the second attempt, when prevailing by a neck at Worcester, but this form would need to be improved upon in this much stronger company. 

Perhaps the strongest domestic form line on offer is that of Too Friendly, who tracked Oceanline into the straight at Stratford, before beating Alan King’s charge by just over a length. Both horses are currently rated 85 on the level and the way that they pulled 24 lengths clear of the third suggests that they could well be a pair of above average juvenile hurdlers. Oceanline was a winner over 1m6f when last seen on the Flat and looks to be more of a staying type, so would probably appreciate Mister Allegro and Genuflex running and giving him a lead (was forced to try and make it a test from the front at Stratford), whereas Dan Skelton’s son of Camelot would be the speedier of the pair and certainly appeared to win the race with a good turn of foot on debut. If Oceanline is able to drop in, in a strongly-run race, it could bring about further improvement and the likely drier ground shouldn’t pose either a problem. They would appear to set the standard on British hurdling form.

The two fillies Addosh and course-and-distance winner Battle Angel will receive a sex-allowance, but both would appear to need to take a big step forward, whilst the entries are made up with a couple of French imports. 

Piecederesistance has joined Micky Hammond having raced on the Flat for Andre Fabre and in the colours of Michael Tabor. He is a Gleneagles half-brother to Broken Stones, who was placed in the July Stakes as a two-year-old in 2016, and he did race quite freely on his final start on home soil, when third at Nancy. He will need to settle better if he is to get the trip over hurdles, but he clearly has an engine.

Finally, Porticello is arguably the most intriguing entrant of the lot. A 3-length winner on his sole start in France, he defeated then stable-mate Magistrato at Auteuil (both trained by David Cottin), in a race that is working out extremely well. He showed a good turn of foot to pick up the second, who made an impressive debut for Paul Nicholls at Chepstow this month, whilst the third (most recently in Listed company), fourth and sixth have also won since. By Sholokhov, he should handle this better ground and he looks to be an exciting recruit to the Gary Moore stable. The down side with Porticello is that he will be burdened with a 5lbs penalty, should he take up the engagement, but he could well be up to the task.