Tellherthename is all systems go for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle having missed out on a shot at Newbury’s Betfair Hurdle on account of the testing ground.

Trainer Ben Pauling has never hidden his admiration for highly of his talented novice, who has won two of his four starts to date in taking fashion at Huntingdon.

The Cheltenham Festival opener has always been on the radar for the Megson family-owned five-year-old, but Pauling was keen to stop off at Newbury en route and try to exploit a rating of 135.

However, with persistent rain in the days leading into the prestigious handicap turning conditions in Berkshire heavy, connections made the decision to skip the contest in favour of heading to Prestbury Park without the risk of a gruelling race prior to his main objective.

“It’s ironic because the Betfair Hurdle is such a valuable race and takes a lot of thinking about, but the Supreme is one of the sort of blue riband events of our sport,” said Pauling.

“To have a horse we think is good enough to feature in it doesn’t happen very often and the owners were keen to save him for that day rather than end up at Cheltenham having had a harder race than necessary in the Betfair.

“We had always said to ourselves we would love to go via a Betfair Hurdle if everything fell right. So he was trained for the race and couldn’t have been in better form, but unfortunately the rain that Newbury got meant the ground was always going to be too testing.

“Actually, the fact the rain stopped and it started to dry out a little bit meant it was going to be quite tacky and hard work, so that even further secured our thoughts not to go there which was a shame because we thought we had him going there in great form and off a very nice mark and a good position to do himself justice.

“He’s at home in his stable looking magnificent and we will now prepare him for the Supreme.”

The Naunton Downs handler has tasted success three times at the Cheltenham Festival and heads to the showpiece meeting in four weeks time with the best squad of novice talent he has ever assembled.

His Festival hopes were enhanced by Handstands’ impressive victory in Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle last week and he will now head attempt to repeat Willoughby Court’s 2017 victory in the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle, while Fiercely Proud and Challow Hurdle third The Jukebox Man are other smart prospects Pauling could unleash in the Cotswolds.

“We do seem to have a lot of novices that are going the right way at the moment and they are a very talented and progressive bunch. It’s nice to have such nice younger horses.” continued Pauling.

On Handstands, he added: “He’s come out of Huntingdon well and I was really, really pleased with his performance in the Sidney Banks.

“He’s a horse that previous to that race had only beaten what he had beaten, but Ben Jones who had ridden him twice before felt we were only scratching the surface and had not got to the bottom of him.

“You are not quite sure until you run them in that better grade what you have, but we were thrilled by the way he went about it and he put the race to bed quite nicely – when he got to the front he didn’t do an awful lot and probably won a bit cosily, so it was a good performance.”

Ben Pauling retains plenty of faith in Tellherthename as he attempts to get to the bottom of what caused his disappointing showing in Aintree’s Formby Novices’ Hurdle.

The five-year-old fetched £200,000 at the sales having got the better of recent Exeter bumper scorer and Envoi Allen’s brother Joyau Allen in the pointing field and backed up that promise in his opening outings under rules, pushing eventual Formby winner Jango Baie all the way at Ascot before bolting up at Huntingdon.

Tellherthename was sent off at odds of 5-1 when making the move to Grade One company on Boxing Day and was up with the pace before stopping quickly approaching three out, eventually being pulled up by jockey Kielan Woods.

Pauling has given the gelding a full MOT following that effort and if nothing comes to light from the extensive bout of testing, the Naunton Downs handler will be content to point towards the testing conditions at Aintree as a plausible reason for Tellherthename’s Formby no-show.

He said: “We’ve explored and turned most stones we can now because we were a bit perplexed at the time as we think he is a bit special. He was just beaten a long way out really for it to be right.

“At the moment we are still investigating but I would pretty much hang my hat on the fact he doesn’t handle that very testing ground.

“Everything so far, all his bloods and stuff, has been good, but we’ve got a few more little bits and bobs to check out.

“He seems very well in himself and if nothing comes to light, I will put it down to the fact he just can’t go on that very soft ground.”

Pauling went on: “I trotted off down the track to try to meet him to make sure he was OK and it was just very hard work.

“It was about as bad a ground I think I’ve seen in a long time and interestingly I shared a lift home with Felix De Giles who rode the French horse, July Flower, in the race and he said it was worse ground than Auteuil by a margin. His horse didn’t even handle the ground and travel to the second hurdle and she is proven on that very soft ground at Auteuil.”

Providing Tellherthename gets the all clear to continue his campaign, Pauling is keen to attempt to restore the talented novice’s confidence at the earliest opportunity.

He will be searching for an opening in calmer waters over the coming weeks where it is hoped the Megson Family-owned gelding can bounce back to his best and reignite spring festival dreams for all connected.

“If nothing comes to light, we will look to get him out in the next 10 days to two weeks in an ordinary novice somewhere, just to get his season back on track,” continued Pauling.

“We can then make plans from there whether we go straight to the Festival or look elsewhere, but as long as the horse is OK.

“From what he did at Huntingdon and before that at Ascot, the form is in the book. He just got touched off by Jango Baie at Ascot and I’m not overly worried about it all – if there is something to find we will find it, if not we will draw a line and go again.

“I think he is a very good horse and as good as we have had for a long time.”

Ben Pauling has the Formby Novices’ Hurdle in mind for the promising Tellherthename.

The four-year-old was a point to point winner who made his debut for the stable at Ascot in November, finishing second by just a nose when defeated by Nicky Henderson’s well-regarded Jango Baie.

His next outing was at Huntingdon for a two-mile maiden hurdle and there he was an impressive 14-length winner under Kielan Woods for owners the Megsons.

A step up in grade is now on the agenda as Pauling is aiming the gelding at the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day, a Grade One contest that was formerly known at the Tolworth and run at Sandown.

“It would be very special to win this for the Megsons as they have never had a Grade One winner,” he said.

“It would be wonderful for everyone involved if we could get them their first Grade One winner, but I’m under no illusions and it is not going to be easy.

“There wasn’t really any frustration when he got beat first time out as our horses at the time were needing it so it was good to see him be so competitive against a horse that was highly regarded by Nicky Henderson in Jango Baie.

“We got beaten by a nose, and if we meet again here it would be interesting to see how we get on second time around, but I know how much our lad would have improved from that first run.

“He did what we expected at Huntingdon last time. At the time we thought it was an average enough race, but there was a couple in it with a bit of form.

“We sent him on from the front to try to keep it simple. He did it nicely and won very much with his head in his chest.

“That form has since been franked with the horse that finished second (Lucky Place) winning by 13 lengths up at Doncaster.

“It might not have been as bad a race as we first thought, but it was still good to see him do it in that manner.”

Tellherthename was purchased at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale and is a horse Pauling has thought highly of ever since he arrived in the yard.

He said: “He is a horse we have liked since we got him. He was a shell of a horse when we got him in March at the sale at the Cheltenham Festival.

“We sent him away and he has come in this season and his work has improved from the start. He looks to be a decent animal on the track.

“Since we really truly saw him work in the autumn he was a horse that took our eye at home and thankfully he has transferred that ability to the track.

“He is an exciting novice going forward and you have just got to hope that he jumps and travels and has a clear round at Aintree.”