Royal Bond Novice Hurdle Guide 2021

My Mate Mozzie has already been well touted as a possible contender for the Supreme come March and there's every reason to be on with the hype given he is unbeaten in four runs in the National Hunt sphere.

He's progressed with each run, keeping on well to win his point to point in December by an eight length margin prior to landing a bumper at Punchestown in April, on his first run for Gavin Cromwell since his £205,000 purchase, by a similar distance.

The son of Born To Sea was impressive when turning over odds on favourite Barbados on his first start over obstacles in October, again by 8 lengths, before subsequently stepping up to Graded level last time out at Navan, travelling strongly throughout and easily going best when left clear at the last with his closest rival taking a tumble.

He sets the standard here, will once more appreciate the good ground and has continuously won with plenty in hand; he looks sure to keep progressing and this Grade 1 is certainly an attainable one.

One of the lesser experienced horses in the race, the Gordon Elliot trained Mighty Potter holds a current record of 2 from 2 under rules.

He is yet to run in a graded contest, unlike the favourite, so it is hard to gauge where his current ceiling lies; the way he won on hurdle debut however, by a 28 length margin, suggests he holds plenty potential.

He gave a solid round of jumping that day, transitioning smoothly into the race, and appears to be a strong travelling type who will possibly relish a step up in trip at a later date.

Interesting proposition who may just be up for this Grade 1 affair on his second start over obstacles.

Three Stripe Life is Gordon Elliott's second runner in the race, equipped with the in-form Davy Russell on board.

The runner holds a fairly big reputation heading into this season following his fourth placed finish in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival in March, only beaten by 7 lengths on that occasion; there's some nice words for the horse coming out the Elliott camp.

He was foot perfect last time out, barring a slight mistake at the last, on his hurdles debut at Fairyhouse, winning by a comfy 6 length margin; the form of that race however hasn’t exactly done him many favours going into this.

It wouldn't be out of the question to presume that Russell has had a say on which horse he'd prefer in this contest and he is another interesting proposition for the yard who cannot be discounted here.

Impervious looks to be a progressive type for connections, going unbeaten across her opening three runs.

She was most impressive last time out when recording a 5-length victory at Down Royal in the Grade 3 Mares Novice Hurdle in October.

She was quite keen that day, seemingly a trademark of how she runs, and didn't jump with any real fluency, however despite this, won well, beating a well fancied Gordon Elliott runner at short odds.

She's clearly talented, however has a lot to work on, and despite getting a 7lb mares allowance in the race, still has plenty questions to answer now upped in grade and taking on the boys.

Uhtred is Joseph O’Brien's sole representative in the race and comes into this contest fresh off a 2.5 length victory over 2 miles in a Naas maiden race at the start of the month.

He is one of the more experienced hurdlers in the field, boasting four career starts, holding form figures of 2441.

The son of Fame and Glory ran in some decent contests last season, including the Grade 1 Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown in April when well beaten by Echoes In The Rain.

His current levels of form fall short of whats expected to land this Grade 1 and the lesser exposed types in the race look likely to progress past him here.

Statuaire is the first of Willie Mullins' three outsiders in the race and has improved markedly for the switch to his stable having recently been acquired from France.

She was clearly talented for former connections given she placed runner-up in listed company on her first start over hurdles, however she leaves the impression that she was a hard horse to train, spending 2 years off the track following that run before returning to action there with two pulled up efforts.

Mullins has since worked worked his magic and has got her to win twice from two runs in Ireland by a combined 24 lengths now appearing a much better rounded proposition since joining the top Irish yard.

She has a 7lb mares’ allowance in this affair and comes into the race in fine form.

She's expected to handle the step up in class and may just spring a surprise at a price in this.

Another French recruit for the Willie Mullins team, Farout is the most experience and most exposed runner in todays field, boasting 13 runs under rules, both on the flat and over obstacles, winning 3.

He's won twice over hurdles this summer since making the switch from France and last time out finished 2nd to a well-regarded Gordon Elliott runner.

It remains difficult to gauge whether he is up to performing at this level, however looks likely to be outclassed by the lesser exposed types.

Arctic Warrior is the outsider of the field who has plenty to prove since disappointing when pulling up in a Grade 3 contest last time out at Tipperary.

He was a faller on hurdle and stable debut in February, however did win nicely on his second hurdle start at Sligo by an 11 length margin following a decent jumping display.

With the same number of letters as there is numbers to his form he's a difficult runner to trust in this.