Charlie Longsdon will hope a fantastic season will be capped off by Vulcanite winning the Grade One William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The trainer has already beaten his previous best total of winners for a season and has confirmed that promising novice Vulcanite will run in the first race of the Festival.

“Vulcanite is a likely runner in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at this stage,” he said

“I’d like to think the more experience he gets the less keen he will be in his races. To be honest, I wouldn’t want the ground too quick at Cheltenham because he is quite upright, but it is always on the easy side of good on the first day at Cheltenham so I am sure that it will be fine.”

The owner of the horse, Sheikh Fahad al Than, has rapidly become one of the biggest players in Flat racing – Dunaden won both the Melbourne Cup and the Hong Kong Vase in 2011 – and the big-hitting sheikh is now seemingly turning his attention to the jumps.

“Sheikh Fahad is very keen on going to Cheltenham,” Longsdon added.

“That is reason behind having this horse as a jumper. He will not be investing in the jump game as he did on the Flat, but if this horse is a success he might have a few more, but if not then he probably won’t have any more, so it is quite important for us that we do a good job.”

Vulcanite, who put in an impressive performance at Southwell last month, at this stage is one of a current crop of 91 entries for the William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, with Jessica Harrington’s Steps To Freedom the 8-1 favourite with the sponsors. The ante-post hot-pot is one of 31 possible Irish runners, with Willie Mullins responsible for nine, the main standouts being Sous Les Cieux, Terminal and Midnight Game.

Ballyrock finished second during a hurdle event on New Year’s Eve at Newbury and next in line in terms of competitive action could be the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle.

This will see the horse run over an extended length of two and a half miles as Vaughan assesses whether to run the six-year-old at the Cheltenham Festival in March, perhaps in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.

Discussing where abouts Ballyrock is at right now, Vaughan said: “He’s been like a lion since his last run, and we are going to try and get one more run into him, either at Cheltenham next week or at Haydock the week after, to put him spot-on for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at The Festival.”

“I couldn’t have been happier with his last run. He had a long lay-off with us through one niggle after the other, and obviously after getting him back to win at Hereford I was confident of a much-improved run in the Challow.”

“I am still fairly confident he is massively improving, and if we can get another good run into him next time it should put us in with a sporting chance come Cheltenham in March.”

“He’s right up there with the best of our novice hurdlers – well he is our best novice hurdler.”

“He already wants three miles and a fence in front of him, and I’m hoping in time he will be a proper three-mile chaser.”

Elsewhere in news related to the Cheltenham Festival, Robin Dickin has been speaking about the possibility of Restless Harry being entered in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

The trainer said: “The World Hurdle is on the radar for Restless Harry. He will probably be entered in the Cleeve Hurdle on Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham and he could go for the Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase on the same card.”

This would mean Restless Harry taking on Big Bucks in the World Hurdle of course, but this will all be part of the horse’s development. A fascinating few weeks await.

Cheltenham Trials Day was all supposed to be about Backspin, but after a disappointing performance, it’s all change in the Neptune Novices’ Hurdle betting.

Backspin entered the novice hurdle unbeaten in his three starts over fences, but a laboured performance under champion jockey AP McCoy has seen the Jonjo O’Neill-trained six-year-old drift out in the Cheltenham Festival betting.

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Backspin is now a 12/1 chance after opening in the betting market at 6/1, and it’s his two rivals from Cheltenham on Saturday that now head the Neptune Novices’ Hurdle betting market.

Bobs Worth was a 16/1 chance for the Neptune Novices’ Hurdle entering last Saturday’s race at Cheltenham, but a 2¼ length victory over Rock On Ruby has seen the Nicky Henderson-trained star slashed into the 5/1 joint favourite.

Rock On Ruby joins Bobs Worth on 5/1 at the head of the market at 5/1, and considering Nicky Henderson’s record in the Cheltenham race, maybe the Paul Nicholls-trained Rock On Ruby should be outright favourite.

Henderson hasn’t had a winner in this race in the last 21 runnings, and with just two top-ten places to his name in that time, Henderson’s form in this race is awful.

It was a powerful performance from Bobs Worth to hold off a resurgent Rock On Ruby at the last hurdle at Cheltenham, but considering his trainer’s record in the race, the 5/1 seems a little short.

Connections of Backspin were disappointed to say the least and Frank Berry, racing manager to JP McManus, said: “”I think he’ll still go to the Festival but he’d have to improve on that for us to be going there with any confidence.”

Rock On Ruby is likely to garner all the confidence on the day, but punters can find some value by exploring the ante post Neptune Novices’ Hurdle betting market.

The stable have a number of staying novices to juggle around notably Quel Esprit and Enterprise Park so it remains guesswork.

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I would rate Finian’s Rainbow as the best of the Brits at this stage ahead of his stablemate Quantativeeasing although he is the bigger-priced as he shaped like the best horse in the Challow Hurdle to me before heavy ground brought Reve De Sivola’s greater stamina into play but, again, we can not be sure about his Festival target.

The Neptune Investment Management Novice Hurdle is run over two miles and five furlongs on the Wednesday of the Cheltenham festival.

It’s a race for grade one staying novices and has churned out some decent winners in the years gone by, Hardy Eustace probably being the best of them.

Historically it’s a race in which the Irish do well in and again seem to hold a strong hand. The Dermot Weld trained Rite Of Passage heads the market and will be hard to beat.

Another notable Irish entry is last years champion bumper fourth Quel Esprit, from the Willie Mullin’s stable. Spear heading the U.K charge is the Nicky Henderson trained Finians Rainbow, along with Peddlers Cross (Donald McCain) and Reve De Sivola (Nick Williams).

Favourite for the Neptune is Rite Of Passage at 7-2. He went off favourite for last years champion bumper but was beat by one of the best bumper winners ever in Dunguib.

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He’s transferred his ability to jumps and should take a lot of beating. He’s unbeaten over timber thus far, winning both races easily. His pedigree suggests the step up in trip is within his range and the forecast better ground should also help the son of Giant’s Causeway. A big chance but no real value at 7-2.

Second favourite is Nicky Henderson’s Finians Rainbow. The son of classy French stayer, Tiraaz, has only seen a racecourse four times but has a lot of ability. To me, he looks more of a chasing type but has solid form over hurdles. With three runs over smaller obstacles under his belt, winning two very easily, he has gained quite a bit of experience. He does hurdle well in the main, but can be novicey.

In his other hurdle race, he finished third in a bunched finish, just being out stayed in desperate ground by Reve De Sivola and Restless Harry. The better ground at Cheltenham should help him stay better and he has a good shout of turning the tables on the above two. Not a bad price at 8-1.

Third favourite and my fancy for the race is Donald McCain’s Peddlers Cross. The son of Oscar has won all three of his career starts easily. The form looks solid enough too. On his debut in a Haydock bumper, he sluiced up beating two previous bumper winners by nine and twenty-two lengths. The horse that finished third in that bumper has since gone on to obtain a rating in the high 120s. His first start over timber saw him win hard held by twenty-one lengths. He then went on to win a grade two novice hurdle very impressively by sixteen lengths, hammering horses of Nicky Henderson and Howard Johnson.

That horse of Henderson’s, Radium, was only four lengths behind impressive Totesport hurdle winner, Get Me Out Of Here, in a previous run. The form looks quite solid. My only concern is the trip; there’s a lot of speed in his pedigree but he did win a point over twenty furlongs. For me he’s a big price at 10-1.

Of the rest, it’s still unclear if Quel Esprit will run in this or the Albert Bartlett. With the ground likely to be good/soft, I think he’ll take the three mile option. I wouldn’t fancy him for this race either to be honest, he has a bit to find with Rite Of Passage on last years bumper run but doesn’t seem to have progressed as well as Dermot Weld’s gelding.

Reve De Sivola has a serious engine and will fly up the hill when others are fading away. He looks a chaser in the making and his jumping of hurdles has been less then fluent. It’s hard to back a horse that jumps as poorly as him but he has loads of ability. He will also love the trip and the course.

Fionnegas is also of interest to me. He was second to Dunguib in the Deloitte, pulling eleven lengths clear of the third. That was a good run over an inadequate trip but is Willie Mullins sending him for the Albert Bartlett or the Neptune?

Another competitive race to try and solve with many in with a chance. Fionnegas would interest me if he ran in this event especially at his current price of 20-1 but it’s still unclear which race he goes for, if he goes at all. I like Reve De Sivola but he’s jumping is a big worry. He’s a decent each-way price at 12-1.

Finian’s Rainbow is a decent horse but strictly on the form book, he has a length to find with Reve De Sivola and is half his odds. Rite Of Passage is very classy but doesn’t offer much value at 7-2. I also have slight reservations about the suitability of the course for him.

I’m going to take a chance with the Donald McCain horse, Peddlers Cross. He looks to have class in abundance and is a big price at 10-1. I have a slight concern about the trip but if it doesn’t come up very soft, he’ll go very well.

An each-way bet for me is Reve De Sivola at 12-1.

In fairness, the winner got the run of the race in what was a crawl that would not have suited Nicky Henderson’s previously unbeaten horse but I wasn’t convinced he was top class before this race and am I certainly of the opinion he isn’t now.

The Betchworth Kid was even less suited to the slow pace so the close-up third was actually cut for this race after his defeat but I would think the Albert Bartlett looks the more likely option for him as the yard have Manyriverstocross for this who ran well when third in the Totesport Trophy.

I just wonder if they might look at one of the handicaps for him though. The winner of that race was Get Me Out Of Here but he is sure to have at least three other Festival entries so who knows where he will end up. My guess is maybe one of the handicaps.

Before the French Triumph Hurdle third Najaf won at Exeter on Sunday, Paul Nicholls said this was his most likely Festival target and that he would improve a lot for the run and it was a pleasing enough performance considering 2m1f would have been on the short side.

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The stable’s Noland won the same race prior to winning the Supreme but Najaf wouldn’t have the pace for that. The Neptune looks favourite but he is also in the Albert Bartlett.

Willie Mullins saddled Mikael D’Haguenet (2009) and Fiveforthree (2008) to win the last two runnings and he has engaged Grade Three winners Quel Esprit and Enterprise Park among 13 entries that also include Morning Supreme and the Grade One-placed pair of Fionnegas and Rhyl Accord. Paul Nolan has entered Shinrock Paddy, who defeated Rhyl Accord to win a Navan Grade One on December 13. The Jessica Harrington-trained Coole River defeated Quel Esprit to land a two and half-mile Leopardstown Grade Two hurdle in January, while the John Hanlon-trained Luska Lad won the Grade Two Moscow Flyer Hurdle at Punchestown, a race in which the Noel Meade-trained Grade One paddypowerpoker.com Future Champion Novices’ Hurdle victor Hollo Ladies was fourth, one place behind the Charlie Swan-trained Start Me Up.

Loosen My Load won the Grade Two Sharp Novices’ Hurdle at The Open in November for trainer Henry de Bromhead, while Tom Mullins has engaged the unbeaten Dr Whizz. Edward O’Grady saddled Drumlargan (1980) and Mister Donovan (1982) to victory and the Irish handler has entered Acapulco, a classy performer on the Flat when with Aidan O’Brien and winner of a maiden hurdle at Navan on January 27.

The Nick Williams-trained Reve De Sivola landed the Grade One Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury in January from the Robin Dickin-trained Restless Harry, who franked the form with a fine victory over General Miller in the Grade Two Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on Festival Trials Day.

Nicky Henderson has a powerful hand with 10 entries. Among them, Quantitativeasing is unbeaten in three starts, General Miller won at the course in December, Kerada and Master Of The Hall have won their last two starts and Finian’s Rainbow was third in the Challow Hurdle.

Peddlers Cross landed the Grade Two Rossington Main Hurdle at Haydock in January for trainer Donald McCain, while the Howard Johnson-trained The Knoxs has won both his starts at Newcastle and the Karen McLintock trained Bygones Of Brid saw off Washington Irving at that same venue. The Tom George-trained Tell Massini defeated Reve De Sivola in a Grade Two at The Open and added the Grade Two Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle over three miles back at Cheltenham in December.

Paul Nicholls has entered Grade Two Prestbury Juvenile Hurdle victor Pistolet Noir, easy Taunton winner Ghizao and classy French import Najaf among five entries. Alan King has seven entries including Grade Two Winter Novices’ Hurdle winner Manyriverstocross, dual winner Stoney’s Treasure and recent Taunton victor Whistlejacquet.

Chartreux easily landed a Fos Los maiden hurdle for trainer David Pipe on January 28, to go with previous wins in a bumper and a point-to-point, while the same trainer’s Sure Josie Sure has won both of her completed starts over hurdles. There is one Australian-trained entry in the shape of Anthony Cosgriff’s Onajet