Encore on the mark at Plumpton Regal Encore remains a 20/1 chance with the sponsors for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle after getting off the mark over hurdles at Plumpton. Second in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival last year, the Anthony Honeyball-trained five-year-old was beaten on his hurdling debut at Aintree last month, but made amends at the prohibitive odds of 1/9 here. Saffron Prince was only a length and three-quarters behind at the winning post, but Tony McCoy barely moved a muscle all the way up the home straight and it's anyone's guess how much the winner might have had in hand. "He was very gassy the last day [at Aintree] and he's a free going-horse who was quite buzzy today as well," McCoy told At The Races. "As much as we want to win at Plumpton, we want to teach him and help him to progress. He jumped well today and was a bit more professional but he's still a very buzzy horse."
