Cheltenham Festival: Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle entries
Thursday 29 January 2015 14:55, UK
Parlour Games is one of the star names among 109 entries for the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on March 11.
The seven-year-old won a Grade Two event of the same name at Prestbury Park in November and followed up in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury over Christmas.
John Ferguson's charge appears the chief British contender for the two-mile-five-furlong Neptune, for which Willie Mullins is responsible for 24 of the 44 Irish-trained horses engaged.
Supreme Novices' Hurdle favourite Douvan, top-class bumper performer Shaneshill, and the Gigginstown House Stud-owned pair of Outlander and McKinley feature in the list for the County Carlow handler.
Liz Doyle has entered Kauto Grand Mogol, who is a half-brother to the great Kauto Star and dual Grade One-winning chaser Kauto Stone.
The seven-year-old has won two of his three starts over hurdles this term and was last seen powering to a 32-length victory in a novice hurdle at Thurles in December.
He finished fourth to Free Expression in a Grade Two over two and half miles at Navan, having scored by eight lengths on his hurdling debut at Limerick. Kauto Grand Mogol also holds an entry in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle over three miles.
Doyle said: "Kauto Grand Mogol is very well. He will go to Clonmel for a Grade Three on February 5 and then we will decide about Cheltenham.
"I am hoping we can draw a line through his run at Navan because he never travelled or jumped and was beaten a long way out.
"His performance in Thurles the next day suggested Navan wasn't his true running and, if that's proved the case, he is definitely on the upgrade.
"Clonmel is a stiff two mile six furlongs and it will be interesting to see what he can do back in Graded company. He did not look short of gears at Thurles but his pedigree suggests he will stay three miles and we hope he will."
Nicky Henderson is responsible for nine entries, including dual Grade Two scorer Vyta Du Roc and Kilcrea Vale, who powered to a 26-length victory on his hurdling debut at Market Rasen on January 15.
Other contenders include last weekend's Cheltenham winner Ordo Ab Chao, trained by Alan King, and the Harry Fry-trained and JP McManus-owned Jollyallan.
