Hyland fling at Kempton seen as ideal stop on way to Aintree

A bold showing in Saturday’s Ladbrokes Trophy could see Hyland bid to provide Nicky Henderson with a long-awaited first victory in the Randox Grand National.

The Seven Barrows handler may have been at the top of his profession for over 40 years, with six British trainers’ titles and 73 Cheltenham Festival wins on his glittering CV, but success in the world’s most famous steeplechase has so far proved elusive.

Henderson must have thought it was a matter of time after his very first runner, Zongalero, finished best of the rest behind Rubstic in 1979, while the The Tsarevich occupied the same spot in Maori Venture’s National year in 1987.

The 74-year-old has yet to better those results despite several subsequent attempts, and 43 in total – but in promising novice Hyland he hopes he has unearthed a genuine contender.

The eight-year-old has won three of his five starts over fences to date and did not do much wrong when filling the runner-up spot behind The Jukebox Man in the Grade One Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Hyland is prominent in the market for the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham next month, but Henderson has decided to instead target this weekend’s £150,000 feature at Kempton before keeping his powder dry for Aintree in six weeks’ time.

“We’re doing something different – he’ll run at Kempton on Saturday and then hopefully go for the Grand National, that’s the plan,” said the veteran trainer.

“We’re going this route because we don’t want to go to Cheltenham and we do want to go to Aintree. That’s the gist of it.”

Sam Thomas saddles the 2023 winner of this race, Our Power, as well as Katate Dori.

Our Power returns in fine fettle after finishing second in two competitive handicaps at Cheltenham since returning from a year off the track, while Katate Dori was last seen filling the runner-up spot when bidding to complete a hat-trick over fences at Wincanton last month.

Thomas said: “Our Power has had a little freshen up since running at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day and he loves Kempton, albeit he might find it a little bit quick in the middle of the race when he seems to be a bit flat-footed.

“But he’s obviously won the race and finished third in it so we go there with full of hope. I think he’s in a really good place. I’m looking forward to it.

“Katate Dori is probably wanting further more than the bare three miles to be honest and it’s a tough ask for a novice going into this race, but he is one that I think will certainly, if he keeps himself out of trouble and gets into some sort of rhythm and isn’t too outpaced, come home strong.

“We are taking it as it comes with him because at the start of the season we were only racing at 110 – he’s taken a big step up.”

Lowry’s Bar is a major contender for the training partnership of Philip Hobbs and Johnson White, having been rerouted to Kempton after missing the Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase at Ascot last weekend.

“The original plan was to run in the Reynoldstown but very frustratingly he pulled up lame on Friday afternoon just with a bit of bruising in his toe. He was absolutely sound by Sunday morning which was good news, but obviously it was frustrating that the one day he was lame he missed Ascot,” said White.

“I thought the extra stamina test Ascot would have provided him would have suited him as he stayed on very well round Windsor last time and would have gone very close but for a mistake three out. He was coming back at the winner towards the line and I don’t think a flatter track will hinder him anyway.

“I think he’s got a very nice profile for a race like this and is very much on the upgrade. He’s less exposed than others in the field and we very much hope he’s progressing which is what you need to be in a race of this calibre.”

Course and distance winner Beachcomber (Jonjo and AJ O’Neill), Golden Son (Paul Nicholls) and Heltenham (Dan Skelton) also feature in a competitive contest.