Spillane’s Tower set for first taste of Cheltenham on Saturday

Jimmy Mangan expects to have a clearer idea of where Spillane’s Tower is heading after he lines up as one of four runners in the Betfair Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday.

A dual Grade One-winning novice two seasons ago, the JP McManus-owned eight-year-old split Fact To File and Galopin Des Champs in a thrilling John Durkan last term before disappointing as favourite for the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day.

He again failed to fire on his return to action over hurdles at Naas in November, but a third-place finish behind El Fabiolo at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve was a step in the right direction and Mangan is looking forward to running his stable star back over fences on his belated first visit to Prestbury Park.

“All is going well with the horse, I wouldn’t be going over otherwise,” he said. “He seems to be on the way back and we’ve got Jack Kennedy riding him. He’s in the Gold Cup and the Ryanair and we’ll know more after Saturday.”

Spillane’s Tower receives 6lb from Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning and last year’s winner L’Homme Presse, trained by Venetia Williams.

The small but select field is completed by Gavin Cromwell’s long-absent dual Stayers’ Hurdle hero Flooring Porter.

The Unibet Hurdle stages a fascinating clash, with Sir Gino and The New Lion both testing their Champion Hurdle credentials.

Brentford Hope and Nemean Lion, who were both in action last weekend, are the other runners.

The unbeaten pair of Dan Skelton’s Maestro Conti and the Paul Nicholls-trained look the big two in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle, while Nicky Henderson’s Long Distance Hurdle and Long Walk winner Impose Toi is the star attraction in a six-strong field for the Pertemps Network Cleeve Hurdle, with Olly Murphy’s Strong Leader and the improving Ma Shantou from Emma Lavelle’s yard seemingly his two biggest threats.

A bumper eight-race card concludes with the Grade Two AIS Novices’ Hurdle, which features Henderson’s Act Of Innocence, Ben Pauling’s unbeaten gelding Taurus Bay and John McConnell’s Champion Bumper runner-up from last season, Heads Up.