Sixteen confirmations for Saturday’s Coral Gold Cup at Newbury

The Jamie Snowden-trained seven-year-old has won at Grade Two level and run well in Grade One company as a novice last season, and began this campaign in Carlisle with a second.

The Venetia Williams-trained Victtorino, Dan Skelton’s Midnight River and Broadway Boy from Nigel Twiston-Davies’ yard are other leading British contenders, while Irish hopes could be carried by Henry de Bromhead’s Cheltenham winner Senior Chief, Willie Mullins’ Horantzau d’Airy and Grandero Bello, who is set to represent the father and son team of Eddie and Patrick Harty.

Grandero Bello won over fences at Galway in late October.

“We were very pleased with the run in Galway. We thought he’d run well, but he hadn’t run since March and we thought he might need it. He won well, which opened up the Coral Gold Cup in Newbury for him,” said Eddie Harty.

“He got plenty of a weight rise from the handicapper but it puts him on a nice racing weight (currently 11st 5lb).

“The owners, Josie Reed and Robert Caddick, are from the area, so it makes sense to bring him over to them for a change. It’s a big race, a big prize and it’s worth a shot.

“He’s come out of the race in Galway bouncing, so fingers crossed he stays like that for the week.”

The weights are headed by Gary and Josh Moore’s Welsh Grand National hero Nassalam on 12st.

Other hopefuls include Henry’s Friend (Ben Pauling), Kandoo Kid (Paul Nicholls) and a potential French raider in General En Chef (Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm).