Stable views to warm punters this winter

Jumps trainers give their horses to follow

NOEL CHANCE

NOEL CHANCE

" Looks Like Trouble is due to go to Down Royal a week on Saturday and he'll be pretty well forward. Flagship Uberalles is also aimed for Ireland as well, for the John Durkan Memorial [over 2m4f]. Then he will go for either the King George, if he proves he stays in Ireland, or for the Castleford at Wetherby on Boxing Day. We've got a very nice horse called Ready To Rumble. He was second at Chepstow when he needed the race, so he goes to Ireland for a valuable maiden hurdle a week tomorrow. Hikari San is a 5yo by the same sire as Looks Like Trouble, from a very good family. A real, old-fashioned steeplechaser, he's a horse with a lot of potential."

HENRY DALY

" Young Spartacus won the Silver Trophy over hurdles at Chepstow on Saturday because I could not find a suitable chase to run him in, off a handicap mark of 137. He wants 2m4f, soft ground, possibly moving up to 3m later in the season. Behrajan won easily at Wetherby and we'll try and do the same again and run him in a small race on a big track. He ran well at Cheltenham in the Stayers' Hurdle, but he's a much better horse on soft ground."

NICKY HENDERSON

" Blue Royal speaks for himself - 3rd in the Champion Hurdle; 16.3 hands; wants fences. He's only got one target and that's at Cheltenham in March. A darker horse is Alexander Nevsky. He won his only bumper and I think he's a lovely horse. He won't run for a bit, but he'll win when he does."

PHILIP HOBBS

" Celtic Native did very well last season. She's likely to run at Ascot on the 17th of this month in a 2m4f hurdle. I hope she might be good enough to go for the Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham. If she's not, then we'll go novice chasing. Illico II has recently come from France. He's won a novice hurdle from two runs. A 4yo, he's a very nice individual."

ALAN KING

"Solo Mio won twice last year and will be aimed at 2m4f hurdles; that could be his ideal distance. Russell Road ran only twice last year but he'll be out soon and could win a good few 3m handicap chases. Gola Cher won at Stratford on his first race over hurdles. He will have another one or two runs over hurdles before probably going novice chasing after Christmas, and he's a horse to follow. His trip is 2m6f plus."

HENRIETTA KNIGHT

"Everyone knows about our Arkle hope Best Mate, who goes to Cheltenham on Sunday, but I'll also give you Chives, Chalmers Place and Impek. Chives is a novice hurdler we rate very highly, a stayer more than a 2m horse. He's won at Hereford and Kempton. When fifth in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham the ground was too fast for him and he didn't get going until the end of the race. Chalmers Place disappointed a bit at Cheltenham last month, but he needs much farther than 2m. We still think he is very good. Impek was bought from the sales in France. He won three bumpers for Francois Doumen and is a 4yo with lots of quality.''

LEN LUNGO

"One good horse we've got, who won three out of three in bumpers last year, is Skippers Cleuch, a big, strong horse by Be My Native. I think he will stay, but he's got a very high cruising speed and we'll be starting off at 2m. Lord Of The Sky won two bumpers two years ago, he won a novice hurdle last year and he won first time out over fences at Carlisle, where he jumped very well. He could have won more last year but ran up against a couple of real good ones."

FERDY MURPHY

"Truckers Tavern is a 5yo who won three points in Ireland. We paid 50,000 guineas for him, and the plan was to go novice chasing, but Adrian [Maguire] has done a bit of schooling on him and he thought it would help to sharpen him up over hurdles. He won very easily by 22 lengths at Wetherby last month, and he will improve considerably. He should be a Cheltenham horse. We had been waiting to go over fences with Ballinclay King from the day we bought him, and we were very, very pleased with the way he's done it at Wetherby. He planted himself at the start at Carlisle on Monday. It wouldn't happen again - we can deal with that. We hope he'll make up into an Arkle Chase horse at Cheltenham."

PAUL NICHOLLS

"Norski Lad is due to run at Haydock on Saturday in the Edward Hanmer and he ought to win plenty of chases. He only ran well once last season, but he had a wind operation during the summer and came back really well to win at Chepstow. He beat Lord Noelie over 3m at Kempton last year, so a trip might be ideal, but he will be just as effective over 2m5f or 2m6f on soft ground. A dark horse is Sharakapour, who won for the Aga Khan on the Flat in France. A nice big, strong 4yo, he's due to go novice hurdling soon."

JONJO O'NEILL

"Radiation fractured a hind leg last season but he seems OK now. He's fairly exposed but he'll hopefully win again in long-distance chases. Under Wraps is a grand, genuine horse. He ran out of his wits the other day when second at Cheltenham, which has taken a bit out of him, but he will surely win a couple more novice chases. They weren't good races he won last year, but he kept his form up and he kept doing it."

MARK PITMAN

"Hitman was a Group-class horse on the Flat but he broke down and it took us a long time to get him up to speed. We ran him at Kempton last Christmas, fancying him, but unfortunately he picked up a stress fracture. He's a high-class horse and we'll start him off low-key and build on that. Cruise The Fairway is a 4yo who won his bumper at Newbury and then ran in the Grade 2 bumper at Aintree. I thought he'd run well, but he was just a bit too free - he took it up half a mile out but just ran out of petrol. He's a very, very high-class horse."

OLIVER SHERWOOD

"Tik-A-Tai won his first hurdle race at Fontwell very easily. That was at 2m6f, but I'm going to drop him back in trip - he's got speed to win over 2m. He's got an outside chance of being a SunAlliance Hurdle horse, but whatever he does this year is a bonus - chasing will be his game. Hopeful won two hurdles last season and was second twice to Shotgun Willy, and he has won his first chase. He can't have it too soft and he can't have it too far."

SUE SMITH

"Errand Boy just made a novicey mistake when he fell at Carlisle, but he's fine; he is a little bit impetuous but he didn't do an awful lot wrong. I'll keep him to the smaller tracks and let him get his confidence. Misty Ridge is a 5yo who had just one run last season. He's such a big horse that we decided we'd leave him for this season, and it's paid off. He's much bigger and stronger. He will have a run in a bumper before he goes hurdling."

NIGEL TWISTON-DAVIES

"Beau runs at Cheltenham on Saturday. We hope he'll be a horse for the Gold Cup and the Grand National. He'll be fine back at the Gold Cup trip - in the Whitbread he'd got them all murdered at the Gold Cup distance, hadn't he? Bindaree will be in all the top long-distance novice chases. Keaneo has run once over hurdles and fell - when he was going to be third - at Cheltenham, but I think he could be very good."

IAN WILLIAMS

"Cardiff Arms won his novice hurdle at Aintree. He has stacks of ability but will be kept to low-key events before being stepped up to more exciting levels once he's gained some experience. His trip will be 2m, but he won't want fast ground. Majestic may struggle off his current mark of 134 over hurdles but he's schooled over fences and jumped well. He picked up an injury last December and we weren't able to get him ready for the Cheltenham Festival, but he's summered very well."

VENETIA WILLIAMS

"Crocadee did very well last season over hurdles and we're hoping he'll do better again over fences. He looks every bit a chaser and that's what he was bred to do. He stays 3m and yet he's got speed enough for much shorter. Avalon Buck won a couple of Irish points as a 6yo and he won his only start last season, on 31 December, the last day that he was qualified for bumpers. We had a few problems with him thereafter but he ran well again at Haydock last Thursday."