TOTAL Recall looks set to go off favourite for the Ladbrokes Trophy – formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup – at Newbury on Saturday.
The Willie Mullins-trained eight-year-old was previously trained by the now-retired Sandra Hughes and made a winning debut for his new stable when taking the J T McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National at Limerick on October 8 by an impressive seven lengths.
And he now turns his sights towards success at Newbury, with Mullins commenting: “You need a lot of luck in these big handicaps, which we had last time. It’s very hard to win two big handicaps in a row, but Total Recall is doing everything right and I don’t know if the handicapper has caught up with him or not.
“If the weights stay as they are at the moment, he has a lovely racing weight. The trip will be fine for him and he jumps well, so he has a lot of things going for him.
“The ground should be fine for him. We know he handles heavy ground but the ground at the moment looks like it will be good to soft, which is perfect jumping ground.”
Other leading contenders include Harry Fry's American, – currently second in the betting – the Nicky Henderson-trained Whisper, and Singlefarmpayment.
The £250,000 Ladbrokes Trophy (3pm), run over 3m 2f, is the highlight of the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival, with racing tomorrow and Saturday.
Friday's feature is the Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle (3pm), where Thistlecrack is set to take on Unowhatimeanharry.
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