Horse Power: Mahler Mission can win the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury

MAHLER MISSION can become just the second Irish-trained winner of the Coral Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (2.50pm) since 1980 at Newbury on Saturday afternoon – if the meeting passes a precautionary inspection at 7.30am in the morning.

Although Irish raiders have a bad record in the feature at the Berkshire track John McConnell’s seven-year-old may end that. He can take the prestigious 3m2f contest and become the second from the Emerald Isle to score – Willie Mullins’ Total Recall triumphed in 2017 – since Michael O’Brien’s Bright Highway was victorious 43 years ago.

Mahler Mission won a Grade Two over hurdles and has only been out of the first three once in seven chase starts since. Following victory at Navan and a second-placed finish at Naas it looked like Mahler Mission would land his biggest win over fences, when leading in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. But he came down two fences from home with the race at his mercy. Willie Mullins’ Galliard Du Mesnil went on to win the 3m6f contest at Prestbury Park, before finishing third in the Randox Grand National at Aintree Racecourse the following month.

Mahler Mission was given a break after that mishap but he returned with an eyecatching run when second to Thunder Rock in the Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase at Carlisle last month. That was over an inadequate 2m4f trip and he looks a potential top handicap staying chaser in the making. The step back up in trip and a decent handicap mark of 151 mean he comes across the Irish Sea as one of the leading fancies to strike Gold in Berkshire. As a second-season chaser he should have plenty more to offer and with the expected improvement he can take the big pot back to