Marsh Wren weekend run hinges on Haydock rain

Marsh Wren will require even more rain at Haydock if she is to take her chance in the Betfair Chase on Saturday.

Stuart Edmunds’ highly-consistent mare has won nine of her 15 starts so far, placing in a further three and scoring over fences, hurdles and in a bumper.

She is twice a Listed winner and finished third in the Grade Two Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham last year, a run that was followed by success in the same Bud Booth Mares’ Chase at Market Rasen that will act as a plan B should Haydock not prove soft enough.

“She won’t run unless we get a lot of rain, if we do then we’ll definitely go,” Edmunds said.

“It’s case of the softer the better for her, to take some of the speed out of the others, so that’s what we’re waiting for and if it comes, we’ll run.

“The mares’ chase at Market Rasen is the other race for her, the one she won last year, we’ve given her an entry for that.”

Should Marsh Wren skip Haydock in favour of Market Rasen, it will mark a year between races as a bruised foot scuppered the rest of her campaign last winter.

“She had a badly bruised foot after her win last year (at Market Rasen) and it affected the bone, we had to be very patient and we couldn’t get her back in time to run,” Edmunds added.

“It was nothing too dramatic and she’s in good form now, she’s been to Worcester for an away day and had a good gallop.

“She worked very well there two weeks ago so we’re very happy with her.

“She’s a very good mare and she’s at her absolute best when the ground is very soft, so we have our fingers crossed for rain.”