Cheltenham countdown, w/c: 25 January | 1 February | 8 February | 15 February | 22 February

Championship races	Champion Hurdle	Champion Chase	World Hurdle	Ryanair Chase	Gold Cup
Novice Chases	Arkle Trophy	RSA Chase	Jewson Novices’ Handicap Chase	National Hunt Chase
Handicap Chases	William Hill Trophy	Festival Plate	Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup	Grand Annual Chase
Novice Hurdles	Supreme Novices' Hurdle	Neptune Investment Novices' Hurdle	JCB Triumph Hurdle	Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle
Handicap Hurdles	Coral Cup	Fred Winter Novices’ Handicap Hurdle	Pertemps Final	Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle	Martin Pipe Conditionals Hurdle
Other Races	Cross Country Chase	Champion Bumper	Christies Foxhunter Chase	David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle

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Thursday 11 February 2010

The Richard Lee-trained Heathcliff won the Debbie Pennell's 50th Birthday Beginners' Chase at Ludlow on Wednesday, and heads to the RSA Chase at Cheltenham.

Lee said after the race: "I don't know what he has beaten but I have always liked him and all he does is stay. I think we will have to go to Cheltenham now as the track there will play to his strengths and I may run him again before as he needs experience.

"I think he would have won the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham last year but he was brought down between the final two flights. We went from almost having a Cheltenham winner to having a jockey in hospital that day, so you could say Cheltenham owes us one."

Songe has attracted support in Saturday's Totesport Trophy after trainer Charlie Longsdon issued an upbeat report.

Longsdon told PA Sport: "He's all geared for Newbury. He's been treated for a soft palate. I'd been concerned he wasn't quite finishing his races like he used to and he wanted to see what we could do. We had the vet have a look at him and we fired a soft palate. He has dropped in the ratings, so I'm hoping he will run pretty well. You never know if it's going to work the oracle but hopefully it will have sorted it out."

Owner Andy Stewart reckons Big Buck's is too short a price for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, telling At The Races: "I was very impressed with Tidal Bay's run in the Cleeve Hurdle and Karabak as well as former Gold Cup winner War Of Attrition. On paper Big Buck's looks the one to be on, but the prices are ridiculous - he's 4-7."

Of Ryanair hope Poquelin, Stewart added: "He has taken to jumping this season whereas last year he fluffed his lines when favourite for the Grand Annual. So far this season he has only been beaten once and that was on very soft ground in the Paddy Power. If it's fast ground and if he jumps well, it will be a good horse that beats him."

Henry de Bromhead is likely to send his novice hurdler Loosen My Load straight to Cheltenham without another run after the six-year-old missed his intended engagement in the Deloitte Hurdle.

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Wednesday 10 February 2010

Triumph Hurdle favourite Mille Chief has scoped poorly ahead of his intended run at Huntingdon tomorrow, and will now be aimed at the Adonis Hurdle at Kempton on February 27.

Trainer Alan King told www.alankingracing.co.uk: "Mille Chief could not have breezed better, but I was not happy with the subsequent scope so we will keep him back for the Adonis Hurdle at Kempton on February 27.

"It is annoying, but had we not had him tested we would have run him at Huntingdon and he would have got beaten and left the Triumph Hurdle behind him.

"Galloping five furlongs under no pressure is so very different from a race - he could have travelled for most of the journey at Huntingdon and then bang, he'd have hit the wall.

"So it is better to find out before the dress-rehearsal as no damage has been done and we can get him ready for Kempton."

AP McCoy reckons Binocular needs to improve to take a hand in the finish of the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle. Third in last year's race, the McManus-owned gelding won easily at Sandown on Saturday, promting McCoy to tell At The Races: "It was nice that he won and obviously good for his confidence. I don't think that he is at the level of form he showed this time last year. Obviously the Champion Hurdle is still five weeks away and he is in the right place.

"On Saturday's performance he definitely has to improve. There's still time so hopefully Nicky can get that improvement out of him. I don't think he's as sharp as he was last year. Whether with more match practice he might get better, you wouldn't know but we'll have to see and hope that he improves."

Of Arkle Trophy hope Captain Cee Bee, McCoy continued: "There's no doubt about his ability as a racehorse, I think he is a very good horse. It's a little bit like some of the horses in Ireland when they come to Cheltenham, it's a little bit of a culture shock for them sometimes.

"There's no doubt he has the ability to win the Arkle and if he jumps well, he deserves to be the price he is. He made a little mistake again at the last but I'd rather ride him in the race more than anything else."

Dermot Weld has still to decide on a target for Rite Of Passage, telling At The Races: "The horse is very well but Cheltenham is five weeks away. He'll be entered in both the two mile and two mile five novice hurdles and we'll make a decision nearer the time - if we decided to run him.

"I'd like to run him at Punchestown next Wednesday in a two-and-a-half mile conditions hurdle and that will tell us a lot more about him."

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Tuesday 9 February 2010

Nicky Henderson's Burton Port was cut from 33-1 to 25-1 for the RSA Chase after winning the Cleanevent Novices' Chase at Southwell on Monday by 14 lengths.

Ferdy Murphy is delighted with his Champion Chase hope Kalahari King, who is reported to have come out of Saturday's Blue Square Handicap Chase in good order.

Murphy told PA Sport: "I was obviously very pleased and he's come out of it fantastic. He's gone up 9lb to a mark of 166 and will now go straight for the Queen Mother.

"What was very pleasing was that it was a proper trial and in any fast-run two miles he's very effective.

"He got away with two miles in the novice chase at Aintree last season but round there he would probably want two and a half, but let's see what happens at Cheltenham."

Rubt Walsh reckons Deloitte Hurdle winner Dunguib will be hard to beat in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, telling the Racing Post: "Dunguib is like an aeroplane. He's exceptional and the way he went past me on Fionnegas was unbelivable.

"He will need to brush up on his jumping, which wasn't good at Leopardstown, between now and Cheltenham. I'm sure Philip Fenton and Brian O'Connell will iron that out.

"He's odds-on for a race in which there will probably be 20-plus runners and, while he'll be very hard to beat, I don't know whether he'd be everyone's idea of a banker."

Nicky Henderson is looking forward to running Feltham Chase winner Long Run over two miles in the totesport.com Kingmaker Novices' Chase at Warwick on Saturday.

He told PA Sport: "It might sound crazy to have him in over two miles at one place and three at another, but I do want to go two miles I must admit - for a little bit of fascination if nothing else.

"He's got an extraordinary amount of pace this horse and the idea of trying to do it is to preserve the horse a little bit. I just think he might get easier races over two miles. Going a good strong gallop will suit him and I think it will suit his jumping as you can let him stride on a little bit.

"I would like to run him somewhere, I do think he needs another run to try and teach him English rather than French. He's a very good jumper but a lot of French horses have their own technique of jumping those Auteuil obstacles - hedges you might call them rather than fences - and they do take quite a bit off the top, we've got to teach him to jump over the top.

"Yogi (Breisner) is coming again and I'm not going to show him a fence at home, he hasn't seen one since Kempton and he won't see one before wherever he goes, we are going to do it all indoors.

"I just think that at two miles he might find it easier, we will see, this is a Henderson hunch. He doesn't work like a three-mile horse and Kauto Star was able to win a Tingle Creek and a good horse can do that sort of thing."

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Monday 8 February 2010

Sunday's Hennessy Gold Cup winner Joncol is only 50-50 to run at the Cheltenham Festival, and would have the Ryanair Chase rather than the Gold Cup as his target, with trainer Paul Nolan saying: "Cheltenham is at the back of my mind and he is only 50-50 to run there. If he does go it will be for the Ryanair and I have no regrets not entering him for the Gold Cup with Kauto Star and Denman being in there. If the ground stays right I'd love to run him in the Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown."

Dunguib is an odds-on chance for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle after his Deloitte Hurdle win, with trainer Philip Fenton saying after the race: "That was the worst he has jumped and he was clumsy at a few hurdles. The last hurdle was probably his best and he jumped nine flights at home during the week with no mistakes.

"He cruises through his races and travels with ease. I wanted him to relax and settle, and he perhaps did that too much."

Citizen Vic won the Dr PJ Moriarty Novice Chase, and winning trainer Willie Mullins reported: "I think the Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse would be tailor-made for him but we will have a look at the RSA Chase first."

Gordon Elliott was on winning form at Musselburgh on Sunday with Triumoh Hurdle hope Carlito Brigante. Elliott said after the win: "He is a big, laid back horse and the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham is the plan now. That course will suit him much better as Musselburgh is a bit tight for him."

Donald McCain won the John Smith's No Nonsense Novices' Chase with Fiendish Flame, who will be aimed at the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase.

Nicky Henderson has yet to decide on a further target for Saturday's Scilly Isles Chase winner Punchestown's, telling PA Sport: "There's the Reynoldstown a fortnight from now which gives us three weeks to Cheltenham, or we wait three weeks from now and the Wayward Lad which gives you two weeks to Cheltenham.

"He didn't have a desperately hard race. It was all good experience, he got experience of finding legs and things. I thought Barry was great on him because he made a nasty mistake and AP was well aware of what was happening and set sail pretty swiftly to try to nick it.

"He just probably needed it as well. He is a very stuffy horse and that would tempt me to go again, but there are other ways of getting there and maybe a race isn't it. The timing is getting quite delicate from here-on. I won't rule anything in, but I'm certainly not ruling anything out."

Owner Michael O'Leary would like to run former Gold Cup winner War Of Attrition in the Grand National, but a run in the Aintree spectacular depends on what weight is allotted.

O'Leary told At The Races: "We were delighted with him last time. He hadn't run well over fences for about two years. It's very hard for him in Ireland because he wants good ground and he just doesn't jump out of soft that well any more.

"Mouse said 'let's go back over hurdles' and he loved it at Christmas and ran very well at Gowran. We'll send him off to the Boyne Hurdle at Navan next and after that we'll see what the weights are like in the National.

"If he gets a ridiculously high weight in the National, we'll probably take him to Cheltenham for the World Hurdle. If he gets a reasonable weight, we'll maybe put him away and wait for Aintree so we'll see what the handicapper does."

Tom George is likely to send Tartak to the Grand Annual at the Cheltenahm Festival rather than the Champion Chase.

Forpadydeplasterer missed his weekend target with a reccurrence of a foot inhjury. Trainer Tom Cooper reports the eight year old will miss Cheltenham, but should be back in action at the Punchestown Festival in April.