Festival Novice Hurdles Well Supported

Entries are revealed today for the four Grade One novice hurdles at The Festival ? the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle, the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle, the JCB Triumph Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, which is being run as a Grade One contest for the first time in 2008.

The 130 entries for the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle, the traditional curtain-raiser to The Festival on Tuesday, March 11, include last season's Weatherbys Champion Bumper victor Cork All Star, one of 46 Irish-trained entries along with Muirhead, who is unbeaten in three starts including the Grade One Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse last month when he got the better of Cork All Star. Willie Mullins, successful last year with Ebaziyan as well as Tourist Attraction in 1995, has five engaged this time around while Whatuthink could attempt to provide Oliver McKiernan with a first Festival success. A very interesting contender is the Andy Turnell-trained Blue Bajan, formerly a very smart Flat performer who has made a highly-promising start to his career over hurdles.

There are 156 entered in the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle, run on Wednesday, March 12, with 57 trained in Ireland. These include the Nicky Henderson-trained Aigle D'Or, the current ante-post favourite and an impressive scorer at Cheltenham on Festival Trials Day, January 26, in the Grade Two Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle. Other leading contenders include Breedsbreeze, trained by Paul Nicholls and successful in the Grade One Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown earlier this month.

Alan King captured the 2007 JCB Triumph Hurdle with Katchit and he trains this year's market leader Franchoek, successful in two out of his three starts at Cheltenham already this season, most recently in the Grade Two Wragge & Co Finesse Juvenile Novices' Hurdle on Festival Trials Day. The one horse to have got the better of Franchoek over hurdles was the Gordon Elliott-trained Harper Valley, successful in the Boylesports.com Juvenile Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham on December 15 when he proved a length and a half too good for the J P McManus-owned horse and the duo could re-oppose on March 14. There are 91 entries in the JCB Triumph Hurdle with 32 trained in Ireland.