Soft ground okay for Ibsen at Haydock Ibsen heads to Haydock on Saturday for the valuable Betfair Stayers' Handicap Hurdle. Gordon Elliott's charge has not run over hurdles since July of last year, but is fit from a spell on the Flat. Elliott said: "He's in good form and on his best form he'd run very well. He won't mind the soft ground." Harry Fry is confident that Minella Awards is "ready to rock and roll" on his seasonal reappearance. Formerly trained by Nicky Henderson, the six-year-old was a beaten favourite on his first start for new connections at Plumpton at the beginning of the year, but raised his game to win the EBF Final at Sandown and a competitive handicap at the Punchestown Festival. He makes his first appearance since late April in this weekend's 100,000 pound contest, but Fry does not expect his charge to be beaten by a lack of fitness. "He was very progressive in the spring, winning the EBF Final and a three-mile handicap at Punchestown. We've had this race in mind for him as it's a very valuable prize and he's going there ready to rock and roll," said the Seaborough-based trainer. "He has form in soft ground. It's going to be very testing on Saturday, don't get me wrong, but he's only a six-year-old and hopefully there's more to come from him. "We'll learn plenty and it will tell us whether we should stay over hurdles with him this season or go novice chasing." Heading the market for the two-mile-seven-furlong event is the Tom George-trained The Worlds End. He has won four of his six starts over hurdles, including a Grade Two triumph over the course and distance, and claimed Grade One glory in the Sefton Novices' Hurdle at Aintree in April. George told At The Races: "I'm delighted with him. He couldn't have had a better season last year, winning his Grade One. "Physically he's improved enormously since last year in every way. He's grown up a lot. "He's got to raise his game a bit. If he does, which he probably should do, he's in with the best of the staying hurdlers. "If that doesn't work we'll go novice chasing with him, so we've got plenty of options." The weights are headed by the Paul Nicholls-trained pair of Silsol and Zarkandar, while other contenders include Dan Skelton's recent Uttoxeter victor No Hassle Hoff and Sam Spinner from Jedd O'Keeffe's North Yorkshire base. Sam Spinner rounded off last season with successive victories at Catterick and ran a blinder on his return to action at Chepstow last month when runner-up to Court Minstrel in the Silver Trophy. O'Keeffe said: "We're very much looking forward to it and it will be exciting to see how he gets on. "He's in brilliant form and I'm sure he'll improve from the run at Chepstow, maybe not so much fitness-wise, but certainly in terms of his education as he has been a bit of a slow learner. "I wouldn't choose for the ground to be as heavy as it is, but hopefully he'll be OK with it. "The trip is a slight unknown, but we're hopeful he'll stay."
