Looking for answers

By Alan Conway

With the 2010 Haldon Gold Cup confined to the history books and the Paddy Power meeting at Cheltenham on the horizon the 2010/2011 National Hunt season is coming to life. For many this point of the season is all about expectation and wonderment. In keeping with that theme there are a few questions that I look forward to being answered over the coming months.

Will the Hurricane fly up the Cheltenham hill?

For the last two seasons injuries have denied the highly talented Hurricane Fly from lining up at the Cheltenham festival. Could this year finally be his time to shine? I hope so. For a horse who has never contested a Champion Hurdle to be second in the ante post betting behind the champ Binocular speaks volumes of the regard in which the horse is held. He finished off last season with an impressive win at Punchestown and is due to reappear in the Morgiana Hurdle this month. If he stays injury free he is the main challenger to Binocular. He has a high cruising gear and a lethal turn of foot. If he is right the Hurricane might blow all the 2 mile hurdlers away this season.

Is Cue Card another Dunguib?

Each year without fail it happens. An impressive bumper winner scores impressively first time over hurdles and is shot to the head of the Supreme Novices market. This year is it Cue Card who has the mantle. Will he become another Dunguib? You can see the hype building already. His first victory at Aintree was good. What did it tell us? We know that Cue Card is alive and can jump. We won’t find out his real merit until March where a helter skelter gallop will either make or break him. The memory of Dunguib hasn’t faded. Punters should be wary.

Can Paul Nicholls see off the Seven Barrows battalion?

One of the fascinations with this season is that Nicky Henderson has emerged as a credible threat to Paul Nicholls’s trainer’s title. Both trainers differ in how they condition their troops. Henderson tends to gear his string to one big aim, the Cheltenham festival, each year. While Nicholls starts his horses hard and continues that trend all through the season. A lot will depend on how the likes of Long Run, Mad Max and Riverside Theatre progress through the ranks because, unlike Nicholls, Henderson has a deep pool of talented novices along with older horses who will more than pay their way. For Nicholls he has to hope that Kauto Star, Denman and Master Minded all bounce back. If they do he will once again be a tough nut to crack. If they don’t the title could be heading away from Ditchet for the first time in five years.

Can Imperial Commander win right-handed?

Imperial Commander is not a great horse. He is a very good one. His trainer Nigel Twiston- Davies can protest all he wants but for Imperial Commander to be considered a great horse he has to win away from Cheltenham and going right handed. The Betfair Chase is his first test of the season. He should win. The real test however comes on St Stephens Day if he lines up against Kauto Star. Each time he has lined up there he has been beaten out of sight. To silence the doubters he has to take command at Kempton. It’s a pity there is a star in his way.

By Alan Conway