Henderson will further test Old Park Star’s two-mile potential

Old Park Star will be given the chance to further state his claims at two miles following Act Of Innocence’s defeat at Newbury on Monday.

It was originally thought Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten hurdler, who has impressed both at Kempton and at Cheltenham over timber so far, would head up in trip on Cheltenham Trials day, but that race is now possible for Act Of Innocence, with Old Park Star slated for Haydock’s Sky Bet Supreme Trial Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle on January 17.

Henderson said of Gordon and Su Hall’s duo: “Our line of thought is that they’ve probably crossed over a little bit. Originally I thought Old Park Star might have been the two-and-a-half horse and Act Of Innocence would be the two (miler).

“On what we saw at Cheltenham and Newbury, it could just be Old Park Star is the two-miler and Nico (de Boinville) said Act Of Innocence needs to go to two and a half.

“We’re thinking the Rossington Main for Old Park Star and maybe Trials day (January 24) or the Sidney Banks at Huntingdon (February 5) for Act Of Innocence.

“The Sidney Banks is a race I quite like and has done us well over the years.”

Act Of Innocence swerved Aintree’s Grade One Formby Novices’ Hurdle on Boxing Day for the perceived easier assignment in an introductory hurdle at Newbury, but bumped into an inspired Minella Yoga who put himself in the Triumph Hurdle picture with a taking stable debut for Paul Nicholls.

However, Henderson refused to be too despondent after his charge attempted to make the running while conceding a significant weight advantage to his younger rival.

He added: “Paul told me in the car park at Kempton that we’re going to have to give one he likes 20lb and when he said that I knew we were in trouble.

“I loved Paul’s horse and saw him at the sale and I knew they had a really high opinion of him in Ireland and it was a massive amount of weight we had to give away.

“I thought he ran brilliantly given the circumstances and he could just be the one now to step up in trip after that. It was hard work in hindsight trying to do it all in front and did he get done for toe by the winner? Or was it simply just the weight that told?”

Old Park Star is as short as 5-1 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, while Act Of Innocence is 50-1 for the same race and as long as 66-1 with Paddy Power for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle over the intermediate trip.