Last season's winner Smad Place is one of 28 confirmations for the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday. The Alan King-trained grey brilliantly claimed the big race 12 months ago under Wayne Hutchinson but will have to shoulder top weight of 11st 12lb in his quest for a famous double.
Only the mighty Arkle (1964-65) has won the Hennessy for two consecutive seasons.
On-song Dorset trainer Colin Tizzard could saddle last season's runner-up Theatre Guide and the well-fancied Native River, but has taken Third Intention out of the reckoning. Un Temps Pour Tout is also prominent in the betting and was David Pipe's sole confirmation.
Paul Nicholls could give Virak, Vicente and last year's beaten favourite Saphir Du Rheu the chance to shine. Nicky Henderson is also triple-handed with 2013 winner Triolo D'Alene, the well-touted Vyta Du Roc and Hadrian's Approach.
Red-hot Irish trainer Gordon Elliott can choose from Outlander and Empire Of Dirt, while compatriot Noel Meade has confirmed Wounded Warrior. Others of note include Blaklion (Nigel Twiston-Davies), Henri Parry Morgan (Peter Bowen), Houblon Des Obeaux (Venetia Williams) and Bishops Road (Kerry Lee).
Champion jockey Richard Johnson will team up once more with Native River as Tizzard looks for another big prize.
Johnson told his Betway blog: "I've never won the Hennessy Gold Cup, but I have a decent chance on Saturday with Native River. I'm delighted to be riding him again. He was great at Aintree last April. The more I kept asking him the more he kept giving me and that's a great quality in a horse.
"It was a good performance over hurdles at Wetherby last time and Lil Rockerfeller franked the form at Ascot on Saturday. Native River is a better chaser than hurdler. What I like about him is that he improved throughout last season.
"It's nice that Smad Place is running in the race as it keeps the weights down for us. It's very hard to win off top weight in a Hennessy. This race is always run at a strong gallop and that will suit my horse. His strongest attribute is his staying ability and he's also a very good jumper. Both he and the Tizzard team are in great form so we're really looking forward to Saturday."
Native River is the 11-2 favourite with William Hill.
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Source: At The Races
