Irish trainer John McConnell believes Mahler Mission is “as good as he’s ever looked” ahead of the £250,000 Coral Gold Cup at Newbury next week.
The progressive seven-year-old finished last season with a dramatic fall in the Grade 2 National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival when four lengths ahead of the eventual winner Gaillard Du Mesnil.
Since then, Mahler Mission put in a good performance when second over an inadequate trip on his seasonal reappearance in the Listed Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase on November 5th, a race that should put him spot on for Newbury’s season-defining contest.
“It was nice to see him put in a clear round of jumping against a top-class horse of the McNeil Family’s [Thunder Rock] at Carlisle,” said McConnell. “It was a trip that was definitely too short for him last time out, so we were very happy.
“We feel he will be better going left-handed, and he looks as good as he’s ever looked physically - he’s starting to fill out his frame now - so hopefully that brings about a bit more improvement in him.”
His fall at Prestbury Park was a career-first for the gelding by Mahler, though McConnell is confident that his jumping remains one of his standout characteristics.
“We haven’t done any more jumping work than normal,” McConnell continued. “He’s a very good jumper and he was probably starting to get a bit tired at Cheltenham.
“There was a miscommunication, but that is that and it happened. His jumping has been really good for the majority of his chasing career – it's actually his strong point – and he hasn’t had any ill effects from it, as you can see by his run at Carlisle.”
Following his second at Carlisle earlier this month, the British handicapper dropped his official rating by three pounds to 148, though he will have to run off his original mark of 151 due to the early-closing nature of the Coral Gold Cup.
That doesn’t worry the County Meath-based trainer, who has had this race in mind for a while, as he said: “I think he has a lovely racing weight [of 10-10] and if everything goes to plan, he’ll be right there at the end of the race.
“During the summer, we were thinking about his target and we were always going to go for a big handicap chase in either Ireland or England.
“He’s better going left-handed, so that was a factor, and the prize money was huge which was an attraction for sure.
“A lot of brilliant horses have won this in the past, so even to be talking about having one with a chance is a big thrill to me and the track itself is beautiful.”
Regular stable rider Ben Harvey will partner Mahler Mission for the fourth time in his career, someone who is key to McConnell’s operation.
“Ben basically grew up around me as he started when he was 15,” the Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer said. “He’s 22 now and he’s made his way up through the amateur ranks.
“He’s very good, especially good over a fence, and he’s a big team player in our yard.”
Mahler Mission is 8/1 with Paddy Power for the 3m2f event that takes place on Saturday, November 2 (3pm).
