Stage seeking starring role at Newbury
Novice chaser hunting Grade Two honours.
Stage Star will seek to build on his impressive chasing debut in the Coral Racing Club Novices’ Chase at Newbury on Friday. The Paul Nicholls-trained six-year-old was a high-quality hurdler, winning the Grade One Challow at the aforementioned track before disappointing at the big festivals at Cheltenham and Aintree. His first run over larger obstacles came in a competitive Warwick novice at the beginning of the month, where he defeated Dan Skelton’s Greatwood winner West Cork by a facile 13 lengths under Harry Cobden. A progression to Grade Two level now beckons, with the gelding set to take on four rivals over two and a half miles. Dan Downie of Owners Group, the partnership in whose colours the horse runs, said: “I’m hoping he jumps as well as he did at Warwick, because then he would have half a chance.“His best attribute is the way he travels and settles. If he settles, we’d be hopefully looking for a good run. “When he disappointed at Cheltenham and Aintree, he obviously had excuses and it was quite clear early on that it wasn’t going to happen, as he was just very keen. “If he just drops the bridle, jumps and settles, I’d hope he’d be bang there.” Nicholls added: “Stage Star won the Challow last year and won at Warwick the other day. “Two and a half is ideal for him. We will see what happens after this, I haven’t made any plans for these novice chasers yet.” A key rival will be Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Beauport, another horse who made a storming start to his chasing career when winning the Listed Colin Parker at Carlisle last month.
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