Jet Powered up for latest test of big-race credentials at Newbury

Henderson five-year-old could lead opposition to Facile Vega in March.

Jet Powered, second in the ante-post lists for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in March, continues his education at Newbury on Saturday.

Nicky Henderson is keen not to ask too many questions too early of the Joe Donnelly-owned five-year-old, who was a very impressive 11-length winner on his hurdling debut at Newbury in November.

He faces 10 rivals in the Coral Racing Club Join For Free ‘Introductory’ Hurdle, and Henderson will be hoping he has a credible challenger to Facile Vega in the Festival opener in March should all go according to plan.

“The aim has always been to be patient and go steady with him because he’s quite an ‘enthusiastic’ horse at home which is why we aren’t putting him straight in at the deep end and I don’t want to overface him at this stage of his career,” said Henderson in his Unibet blog.

“That said, he is a very nice horse, as we all saw last time, and I hope he will develop into a high-class animal.

“This is another part of the learning process and we’ll know more after this.”

His chief rival may well be Gary Moore’s Inneston. He won a French AQPS bumper at Le Mans, beating Irish Point.

The runner-up subsequently joined Gordon Elliott and was a head second to Marine Nationale in the Royal Bong Novice Hurdle on his most recent outing.

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