Philip Hobbs feels his “staggering” stable stalwart Zanza has plenty on his plate in his bid for a sixth victory at Newbury in Saturday’s BetVictor Greatwood Gold Cup.
The nine-year-old has been beaten only once in six previous appearances at the Berkshire circuit and that was when sixth in the 2020 Betfair Hurdle.
He ran away with a handicap chase at Newbury in November, but few gave him much of a chance in last month's Grade Two Denman Chase, in which he powered seven lengths clear of the high-class Hitman.
Hobbs said: "That win was obviously fantastic and we were very lucky in a way that it happened in an ITV race, with Tom O'Brien riding as well. It was all great."
The Minehead handler is looking forward to sending Zanza back to his favourite track this weekend, but feels a 15lb hike in the weights, coupled with a drop in distance, will make life difficult.
"He is also in the Premier Chase at Kelso on Saturday, but Newbury is his first preference and that was always the plan," Hobbs added.
"He is a staggering horse, in that his form at Newbury is so much better than elsewhere.
"Unfortunately now, though, for winning the Denman, which obviously the handicapper didn't think he would, he has paid the penalty and gone up a hell of a lot, and actually two and a half (miles) is on the short side as well. I think this time, it might be a little less easy than it has been before.
"They have altered the ground to good and have taken out the good to firm in places. As far as Zanza is concerned, fast ground is not an issue anyway. The biggest issue now is his new handicap mark."
Zanza is one two horses set to carry the welter burden of 12st along with last year's winner Paint The Dream.
Fergal O'Brien's charge reverts to handicap company after finishing a well-beaten third behind Pic D'Orhy in the Grade Two Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton in January.
O'Brien said of his three-time course winner: "He's in great form and we're very happy with him. Fingers crossed he can do it again.
"It's a slighter harder task than last year, but he'll be doing his best.
"He loves the place and he'll love the ground, so we're looking forward to it."
The Tom Lacey-trained Sebastopol makes his first appearance since springing a surprise in a Grade Two novice event at Newbury in November, while Chris Gordon's Lord Baddesley – another previous Newbury winner – bids to follow up an impressive recent verdict at Plumpton.
Gordon said: "He jumped beautifully at Plumpton and has grown up a lot this year. He's got a few more races under his belt and I was really thrilled with him at Plumpton.
"If we can just progress a little bit more, hopefully we've got a great chance.
"He's got a good racing weight (10st 2lb), although I'm not sure the jockey (Tom Cannon) would agree as I think it's the lightest he's done for a while – he could be pretty hungry on Saturday!"
Espoir De Guye (Paul Nicholls), The Big Bite (Henry Oliver) and Gemirande (Venetia Williams) complete the septet.
