Marie’s Rock is being readied for a defence of her Relkeel Hurdle crown on New Year’s Day after connections decided against a tilt at Saturday’s Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.

Nicky Henderson’s dual Grade One winner proved much too strong for Dashel Drasher in the Relkeel at Cheltenham last season, prompting the Middleham Park Racing team to seriously consider stepping up to three miles in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival in March.

Ultimately, though, she was kept against her own sex in a bid to secure back-to-back victories in the Mares’ Hurdle, but failed to fire as retiring superstar Honeysuckle stole the show.

Having subsequently run with credit over the extended distance at Aintree in the spring, optimism was high when she tackled three miles again in last month’s Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, but Marie’s Rock could finish only fourth behind her old rival Dashel Drasher, prompting a change of direction.

“She was a bit too free and fresh at Newbury to get an accurate reading on whether she stayed the three miles and we’ve decided to go back to what we know for her next start,” said Middleham Park’s National Hunt racing manager Tom Palin.

“I was probably a bit too bullish for my own good before Newbury, but horses to have a tendency to make you look silly at times! She was certainly the liveliest I’ve seen her in recent memory in the parade ring beforehand and Nico (de Boinville) felt the damage was done before the tapes even went up.

“We’ll go back to two and a half on soft ground at Cheltenham, which we know she loves, burn some more freshness off her and get her really fit before going back up to three miles, either in the Cleeve Hurdle back at Cheltenham on Trials day or there’s a Grade Two mares’ race at Ascot on January 20.”

Palin is fully aware the Relkeel Hurdle will be no penalty kick for Marie’s Rock, with Henry de Bromhead’s resurgent Irish star Bob Olinger among her potential rivals.

He added: “It’s not a bad race the Relkeel, by the way – it’s not a case of we’re dodging the Long Walk and ‘only’ going for the Relkeel. It was a very competitive race last year and it looks like it’s going to be at least as strong this time around.

“Unless it’s very obvious in the Relkeel that she doesn’t want any further, we’re keen to give her another go over three miles afterwards as that will tell us whether we aim for the Mares’ Hurdle again at the Festival or have another look at the Stayers’ Hurdle.

“She is a mare at the end of the day, so let’s see if we can get some more wins into her, starting off in a race where we know everything should be right for her.”

Freshness has been cited as the reason for the below-par display from Marie’s Rock at Newbury, with owners Middleham Park Racing no closer to knowing if their star mare truly stays three miles.

The Nicky Henderson-trained eight-year-old was a Cheltenham Festival heroine for her syndicate members in 2022 before following up at the Punchestown Festival the following month.

She added to her haul of victories when successfully reappearing in the Relkeel Hurdle on New Year’s Day but failed to defend her Mares’ Hurdle crown when seventh behind Honeysuckle.

Having decided against a move up to three miles at the Festival, connections finally made the step up in distance at Aintree a month later, where she finished second to a thriving Sire Du Berlais.

Given another chance to prove herself over a staying trip, Marie’s Rock was sent off the 6-5 favourite to get her new campaign off to a winning start in Newbury’s Long Distance Hurdle.

However, over-exuberance both pre-race and in the early exchanges put paid to her chances and left connections willing to put a line through her disappointing fourth-placed finish under Nico de Boinville.

“I suspected we knew our fate when she was leaving the parade ring really, and she was as wound up as I’ve seen her in recent memory,” explained Tom Palin, racing manager for Middleham Park’s National Hunt string.

“She is Marie’s Rock, she does get sweaty and she does get buzzy, but she was very, very on it and Nico said she was on it at the start, just always on her nerves.

“She came there looking like she was going to be deadly and nothing was found and that was because she spent her energy at the start really, the damage was done before the tapes went up.

“There’s a fine line with horses like her and she’s so brilliant and so quick, but you just need to harness it and I think she was just too fresh and too free to do herself any form of justice.”

The defeat has left the Middleham Park team scratching their heads regarding Marie’s Rock’s next move, still lacking clarity over their eight-time winner’s staying potential.

Although eased in the Long Walk Hurdle market, connections are refusing to completely give up on three-mile ambitions, despite a crack at back-to-back Relkeel Hurdle victories followed by the Mares’ Hurdle back down in trip creeping onto the radar.

“We’ll regroup and go again and see whether we go again over three miles next time or drop back to two-and-a-half for the Relkeel,” added Palin.

“She’s the defending champion in that and is very good over two-and-a-half-miles at Cheltenham. That could be just the ticket, or we could stick to three miles in the Long Walk.

“We’ll have a bit of a discussion as a syndicate and with the trainer and see just where she is in the next 10 days or so.

“She was too free to accurately judge if she is going to be a three miler or not, but what I would say is that at this stage, the Mares'(Hurdle) is a bit more open to consideration than it was going into Friday.

“My comments (previously) have been it’s very much just the three-mile route, but when the facts change, your opinions are allowed to change as well and I’m not as all-in – nor is Nicky or the team – on the three-mile division being her sole campaign this year. We’ll know more as the season goes on.”

If abandoning the Long Walk in favour of the Relkeel, one possible route available to the Marie’s Rock team is a temporary drop in distance that allows the mare the chance to defend her crown, before a third attempt at three miles over the Stayers’ Hurdle track and trip in the Cleeve Hurdle on Festival Trials Day.

“You could go Relkeel and then onto the Cleeve at the end of the month and go back up to three miles that way,” continued Palin.

“Then she will be hard fit because she’s had two runs, burnt off any freshness and there would be no excuses.

“You would have a pretty good sighter and handle on whether she is right to line up in a Grade One staying race from there on in.”

Middleham Park Racing are not shying away from a sprint rematch at Royal Ascot between Shouldvebeenaring and Little Big Bear.

The two horses contested the Sandy Lane at Haydock when last seen, with Little Big Bear prevailing as the even-money favourite with Shouldvebeenaring giving him a run for his money a length and a quarter back in second.

Having started at 11-1 for Richard Hannon and Sean Levey, the runner-up ran a mighty race and continued what is proving to be an incredibly fruitful season for him.

Though his Haydock performance was something of a pleasant surprise for the grey’s owners, Hannon was less shocked as the colt had impressed him in his work beforehand.

“It did catch us a little bit by surprise but we felt he warranted his place in the race, he deserved his shot at the big time,” said Tim Palin of Middleham Park.

“He’d been crashing around in Listed races and doing that particularly well and we just thought we’d pop his head above the parapet and see where he ended up.

“He did it in spades, didn’t he? He stepped up to the plate in spades.

“I was pleasantly surprised, to get so close to the champion two-year-old is an immense achievement for a £40,000 yearling that we bought from Goffs UK.

“Richard had said to me on the Tuesday after his final piece of work, ‘Tim, this horse is better than ever. He’s never done what he’s just done there in front of me’.

“It probably wasn’t as much as a surprise to Richard that he was able to step up because he’s seen it in front of his very eyes.”

Shouldvebeenaring is now pencilled in for the Commonwealth Cup, a Group One sprint where he will likely cross paths with Aidan O’Brien’s Little Big Bear again.

Palin said: “It’s great to be mixing it in these lofty places, where do we go now? There’s some talk about the Jersey, but Sean (Levey) did say that he wouldn’t mind another go at the winner when he got off.

“That’s what we may well do, if he’s (Little Big Bear) the 13-8 favourite and we’re just a couple of lengths off him then he would probably deserve a place in the Commonwealth Cup.

“He’d have to mix it with even more blue-blooded types and time will tell but he does deserve it, a stiff six furlongs is probably Shouldvebeenaring playing at home.

“With a nice patient ride we’ll see where we end up and if we could nick a place, that’d be great. If he did happen to turn it around with the winner then it’s a stallion-making opportunity.”

A £40,000 purchase, Shouldvebeenaring has earned over £250,000 in prize money already and is quickly becoming a popular horse as his ability is matched by his consistency.

“He wears his heart on his sleeve, he has the heart of a lion and puts so much effort into all of his races, even the days he’s been beaten,” said Palin.

“He still has that enthusiasm and he’s still improving, he’s not the biggest, he’s a bit of a pony.

“His diminutive stature is certainly belied by his heart and tenacity, he’d run through a brick wall for you, he’s a superstar.”