Stage Star a Turners prospect

SOMETHING funny was going on during Coral Gold Cup weekend at Newbury. Two of the best British novice chasers ran at that track but they barely jumped a fence properly and ended up running miles below form.

The horses in question were Thyme Hill, who went on to win the Grade 1 Kauto Star at Kempton by 15 lengths, and Stage Star (below), who put himself in line for a crack at the Turners with an emphatic win under top weight in a handicap at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Stage Star had looked a topclass chasing prospect on his debut and Thyme Hill won on his chase debut too. They were long odds-on to win at Newbury on their next starts and both ran weird races. My guess is the ground was the reason for their poor displays at that meeting because Balco Coastal also ran well below par. I reckon we can safely rule out those runs.

On what he showed on Saturday, Stage Star has as good a chance as any British novice in the Turners because his time was excellent and he hardly came off the bridle to beat a strong field.