Sober Glory excels at Newbury

Sober Glory put himself in the picture for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle with an impressive performance from the front in the opening William Hill Racing Epic Boosts Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury.

Philip Hobbs and Johnson White’s six-year-old was sent off the 1-3 favourite on the back of an easy success over the course and distance in January and Harry Cobden wasted little time at the head of proceedings setting a strong early pace.

Fellow course winner, Dan Skelton’s Kadastral, loomed up large heading into the straight, but Cobden had plenty underneath him and when asking his mount to quicken was rewarded with a taking burst of pace as Sober Glory stretched 27-lengths clear.

It was the second-successive year the winner has been victorious on this card having scooped Listed bumper honours 12-months ago, with Paddy Power making Sober Glory a 20-1 chance for the Cheltenham Festival curtain raiser next month.

“Harry said he coped well with the ground and he certainly did that very well and jumped very well apart from one down the back, we have to be happy,” said Hobbs.

“Harry very much got a breather into him coming down the bottom bend and into the straight as he wanted to go fairly quick to start with.

“It takes some doing winning like that with a double penalty and the first two have left the others a long way behind.

“We wanted to go to Exeter for the Listed race (which was abandoned) but at the end of the day this has been a good alternative.

“The owners aren’t here today, but the Supreme would be likely for him next. I’m sure he’ll go further but he doesn’t need to go further just yet and his only entry is in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle anyway. Until we need to we’ll stay at two miles.

“We’ve got plenty of nice handicappers and nice horses but it’s nice to have one that can potentially go right to the top.”

There was no joy for the Skelton team in the first but Harry Skelton nursed the in-form A Pai De Nom (11-8 favourite) home for a fourth win of the season in the William Hill Each Way Extra Handicap Hurdle.

Third in the Lanzarote at Kempton when last seen, he is now poised for a tilt at the Martin Pipe at Prestbury Park, a venue he has already tasted success at this term.

Dan Skelton said: “He ran really well in the Lanzarote and didn’t go up in the handicap, but needed a rise to get a run in the Martin Pipe at Cheltenham and that is where we are headed.

“I think the race makeup suited him today so you need to take that into consideration but to be fair to the horse all he has done is improve and he’s a young horse who is entitled to improve, however, the amount of improvement has been unexpected perhaps.

“A fast-run race will suit him and he’s got plenty of experience now. We haven’t hidden him and that was his sixth run of the season and he’s just took his racing and loved it. You would hope he would be a player at Cheltenham.”