Taurus Bay taking the spotlight for Pauling and Redknapp

Ben Pauling and Harry Redknapp already have a major Cheltenham contender on their hands and Taurus Bay could add his name to the list when he steps up both in trip and grade for the AIS Novices’ Hurdle on Saturday.

While Gold Cup hope The Jukebox Man has been garnering headlines, Taurus Bay has quietly impressed in his own right and now gets his own chance to step into the spotlight, with only testing conditions concerning his trainer ahead of a visit to Prestbury Park.

Pauling said: “I think Taurus Bay is very smart, but we are going from two miles to two and a half miles on what will be very testing ground and hopefully he will stay.

“He’s in very good order and looks a million dollars and we’re keen to see how he progresses at this level.

“I think he’ll handle the ground, but it’s whether he really wants this trip in a bog. There’s a difference between somewhere like Aintree on soft ground and then Cheltenham in soft ground, but he’s a classy horse and I would hope he can take it in his stride.

“It’s obviously a very decent race and I’m excited to get him out again.”

John McConnell’s Champion Bumper runner-up Heads Up looks the pick of two Irish raiders in the field, returning to the Cotswolds after chasing home No Drama This End at Cheltenham in November.

McConnell, who has booked Danny Mullins, said: “He’s in good shape and has had a nice break since the last day, we’re hopeful.

“I think his form is right up there and we’re hopeful he’s better than his last run, so hopefully he shows it on Saturday.

“You won’t get better than Danny, so we just decided to do that and hopefully it works.”

Also bumping into Paul Nicholls’ stable star on their most recent outing was Olly Murphy’s Blue Room, one of two in the race for the Warren Chase handler alongside the unbeaten Adonedeal.

“The Blue Room hasn’t done as lot wrong, he’s been freshened up since Sandown and he’s been aimed at the race,” said Murphy.

“It looks a very strong contest but he’s got an each-way chance. No Drama This End beat us well, but we made a mistake at the wrong time.

“We’ll know if we go down the handicap route or stay in graded races after this.”

He went on: “Adonedeal has done absolutely nothing wrong at all and while he looks a little bit wrong at the weights, we’re keen to dip our toe in and see where we stand and then we’ll know a little bit more the route we’ll go down.”

The likely favourite is Nicky Henderson’s Act Of Innocence who impressed at Newbury on his debut but now heads up in distance after narrowly failing to concede a hefty weight burden to Nicholls’ youngster Minella Yoga back at the track over the Christmas period.

That Ditcheat runner looks to have leading claims in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle earlier on the card as the exciting prospect crosses swords with Dan Skelton’s taking Kempton winner Maestro Conti.

Nicholls told Betfair: “We are still learning about him after he surprised us a little with the manner of his win at Newbury in December. The way he travelled and stayed on strongly to put the race to bed in the last furlong impressed me.

“He can only keep learning. I think the softer ground won’t hurt him – he won on heavy at Fairyhouse in November – and, based on the way he stayed on strongly, I think he will gallop up that Cheltenham hill. It is a learning curve, we are learning all about him.

“Dan Skelton’s horse in this race, Maestro Conti, has won two from two, and there are other smart horses in there, so this is going to be a good race. But we are very happy with Minella Yoga and how he performs on Saturday will tell us whether he is going to go to the Triumph Hurdle.”

Hoping to mix it with those two star names is Chester Williams who send his easy Chepstow Grade Two winner Tenter Le Tout into battle hoping her professionalism can help her remain on an upward curve in conditions that will suit.

“She’s been an absolute professional in both her hurdling runs and she jumps very well,” said Williams.

“She stays well and she is probably today’s horse rather than tomorrow’s horse and that might be the key at the moment against some other juveniles who are still weak and still developing.

“Her jumping stands out and she is so good once she gets on track. The soft ground won’t bother her either and to be honest I didn’t even want to run her at Chepstow on the day as it was clear after the first race it was good ground and I do think she will enjoy getting her toe in.

“Had there been options the next week and rain forecast she might have gone there but thankfully that wasn’t a possibility and it paid off.”