Kevin Blake's Big Race Verdict: Marie looks Rock solid in Relkeel

• Small but select field for Relkeel Hurdle

• Bog Olinger has talent but also questions to answer

• Step back in trip should be ideal for Marie's Rock

The new era of Premier Racedays begins at Cheltenham on New Year's Day.

While a bunch of small fields could hardly be considered starting with a bang, that result is indicative of a long festering rot in National Hunt racing that can hardly be blamed on any new initiative. Let's hope that it proves to be a success in the long term, as it is needed.

Classy Bob has plenty of flashing red lights

The most interesting race on the card through this set of eyes is the Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle (15:15).

The two main contenders are slightly older types that we know plenty about and both have some level of doubt attached to them. They are worth dealing with in detail.

The Henry De Bromhead-trained Bob Olinger has had an eventful career. He looked a potential superstar when making Gaillard Du Mesnil and Bravemansgame look ordinary in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle in 2021, but he has hit a few bumps on the road since then.

His chasing career started off well with two impressive wins, but he was in the process of looking laboured and being put in his place by Galopin Des Champs in the Turners' Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2022 only for that rival to fall at the final flight and leave him clear to take the spoils.

The hints that all might not be well were confirmed the following month when he was pulled up in a Grade 1 novice chase at the Punchestown Festival.

Sent back over hurdles last season, he started his campaign reasonably positively with a second-place finish in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan, but he went backwards in two subsequent starts and De Bromhead decided to pull stumps with him before the spring festivals.

Given plenty of time to try and iron out whatever was ailing him, Bob Olinger made a winning return to action the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan last month.

That performance offers support to an existing impression that mid-range trips might well suit him best, but the slow pace the race was run at makes the form look somewhat ropey. As well as that, when it comes to horses that have had plenty of physical issues, catching them fresh is often the best time to catch them.

Last season, Bob Olinger went backwards from his promising return to action and that possibility has to be considered here. As well as that, while he has plenty of form on testing ground, he is a particularly good mover and will always likely be at his very best on a less testing surface.

While the case for him is there to see, there are flashing red lights attached to him that make him a risky proposition. His owner sponsors this race and it is likely to have been Bob Olinger's aim, but I just can't chance him at the price he is.

Mid-range trip makes Marie the one to beat

The other one dominating the market is the Nicky Henderson-trained Marie's Rock.

The eight-year-old is a high-class performer that won the Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2022, won this race last year and shook up Sire Du Berlais when second to him in the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree in April.

What has allowed Marie's Rock to achieve what she has in recent years is that she has consented to settle better in her races. Early in her career she was a particularly hard puller and it often held her back. She is better in that regard now and while she has run well in her two career outings over three miles, I'm personally not convinced that she wants that far. To me, her best trip looks to be mid-range distances.

One of those runs over three miles came on her seasonal reappearance in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury in December.

It was a punchy call to run her over that trip on her first outing of the season given any horse will always be more likely to pull harder when fresh and the gamble didn't pay off this time, with Nico De Boinville reporting her as having been buzzy and overly fresh which she paid the price for in the closing stages.

This race has reportedly been her target since then. With her first run under her belt and now dropping back to what is her ideal trip on ground that will pose no fears for her, she looks to be the one to beat.

Of course, it isn't just a two-horse race and a case can be made for the less exposed Strong Leader and even the veteran Brewin'upastorm.

Strong Leader in particular has prospects based on a positive first run over mid-range trips when second to Blueking D'Oroux at Ascot last time and he might well get the lead to himself here, but Marie's Rock might just have too much class for him at this stage.

Now read Tony Calvin's New Year's Day Racing Tips.