HORSE POWER Leading hurdler Wendigo raring to go at Worcester

WENDIGO emerged as one of the leading novice hurdlers trained in the UK last season and can get his new career off to the perfect start in the Richard Davis Memorial Beginners’ Chase at Worcester.

- By NICK ROBSON

Trained by Jamie Snowden, the only time he finished out of the first two over hurdles was at the Cheltenham Festival when he lost very little in defeat, finishing an eight-length fifth of 20 in the Albert Bartlett behind Jasmin De Vaux.

At one point he looked like finishing third as he made a lot of ground up off the bend, but he was hampered after the penultimate flight and then faded up the hill.

Snowden could have easily found him a more straightforward first outing over fences as up against Pic Roc and Wade Out he will have to be pretty fit, but if he has any pretensions of being a graded novice chaser, he needs to be going very close to winning.

Southoftheborder looked promising at one point when with Nicky Henderson but has been moved to Henrietta Knight for a change of scenery.