Cheltenham Festival.

Well Chief on course for Champion Chase return


DAVID PIPE has confirmed that former Arkle winner Well Chief is "on course" for a belated return in the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase on March 1 1.



The fragile ten-year-old has not been seen since finishing third to Monet's Garden in the Melling Chase in April 2007, having fallen at the second in the Champion Chase.

On his only other start that season, the ten-time winner landed the Game Spirit Chase in February, nearly two years after his last public appearance.

Pipe said on Saturday: "Well Chief is still on course for the Champion Chase. There's 17 days to go now and for a longtime I wasn't sure we'd get this far.

"I touch wood everyday, but at this point, things are fine."

Winner of the Arkle Trophy in 2004, the dual Grade 1 winner is a general 20-1 shot for the 2m contest.

Morris planning Festival three-pronged attack


MOUSE MORRIS, who will be represented by War Of Attrition in the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, is also targeting two of the novice hurdles at next month's festival.


He said on Friday: "China Rock will run in the Supreme Novices' if the ground is soft but we would probably switch him to the Ballymore if the ground is better than soft. Browns Baily is being aimed at the Albert Bartlett."

Browns Baily has won twice at Thurles this season and was successful in a 2m6f novice event there on his most recent start.

China Rock is two fromfour over hurdles and was a 25-length winner at Cork last month, when he was left clear by the last-flight fall of Head Of The Posse, who went on to win at Punchestown on Wednesday.

McManus adds classy Karabak to festival team


JP McMANUS has secured one of the leading contenders for the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle after completing the purchase of Karabak.

The owner has returned to trainer Alan King's stable, the source of last year's Triumph Hurdle runner-up Franchoek, to recruit Karabak to his Cheltenham Festival team.


Karabak has won three of his five starts and began his hurdling campaign this season with a second place behind Mad Max before getting off the mark over jumps at Cheltenham in December, where he beat Mahonia in the EBF Boylesports.com Novices' Hurdle.

He really came to the fore last time out at Ascot, where he dismissed a talented field to land the Rosling King Novices' Hurdle by 14 lengths from the highly rated Kangaroo Court.

The win put him in the frame for Cheltenham, with King inclined to run him in the Ballymore, for which he is a top-priced 6-1 second favourite with Ladbrokes and Coral.

McManus's racing manager Frank Berry said:"The deal has only just been completed for Karabak to run in JP's colours at Cheltenham, where I imagine he will run in the Ballymore, although that will be left to Alan."

Berry confirmed that as a result of the deal Tony McCoy, McManus's retained jockey, would be first-choice rider on the horse.

Cheltenham could begin watering next weekend


CHELTENHAM officials are considering watering the racecourse from next Sunday after rising temperatures and a largely rain-free forecast began to alter ground conditions at the festival's home.

The racing surface at Cheltenham, whose major December Saturday fixture was abandoned due to waterlogging, were described on Sunday as good to soft. However, with the track's forecaster John Kettley and the Met Office predicting a week without rain, artificial irrigation is now a serious possibility before the start of the festival in 15 days' time.

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse said: "We stick to the policy that we've had in place for some time, namely that we will water if necessary to ensure that we start the festival on ground on easy side of good.



"We have now had a dry week and next week is looking pretty dry as well. At the moment, it's predominantly good to soft, but there's a bit of soft in it and a bit of good in it.

"We could be moving towards good ground towards the end of the week, and at the moment we are gearing up to consider watering as of next Sunday if the forecasts next week aren't giving us any promise of rainfall the week after. In fact, I wouldn't have ruled out watering when people were saying to me four weeks ago that it would presumably be soft at the festival."

A Met Office spokesman said: "It is certainly going to be predominantly dry for the next five or six days because we have high pressure nearby that will keep things dry. It does look as though it will get more unsettled by the end of the week, and as we head into the first week to ten days of March we will be getting some rain, but probably not a great deal in that part of country."

Official going for first race of Cheltenham Festival
Blue Square: 8-15 good to soft, 3 good, 9-2 soft, 14 heavy, 200 good to firm, 1,000 firm

rathmulen dont know what race

Harchibald to run at Dundalk on Friday


HARCHIBALD is set to complete his preparations for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle with a run at Dundalk on Friday night.

The enigmatic ten-year-old has been off the track since winning the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day, as he requires good ground.

Trainer Noel Meade has used the tactic of switching the horse to the all-weather on a number of occasions in the past, notably when he won the corresponding 1m4f contest 12 months ago.

"I think he probably will run in Dundalk and then we will see what happens with the ground regarding Cheltenham after that," said Meade.

"He's fairly straight now but I think another run would have him very sharp for Cheltenham. It's worked well with him before so we will have to see."

Meade also gave an update on some of his otherCheltenham festival candiadtes.

"Jered will work after racing and we will probably work a few others as well and see where we go from there," he added.

"Casey Jones could go to Cheltenham for the RSAChase and Parsons Pistol might go in the four-miler."

Bacon rolls served! I wonder where Mark will be on Wed?

Binocular racecourse gallop open to public


KEMPTON will open its gates to the public for the racecourse gallop on Wednesday morning, which features red-hot Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle favourite Binocular.



The horse is one of a seven-strong group of Cheltenham Festival prospects from trainer Nicky Henderson's stables that will work at the racecourse from 8.30am. Jockeys Tony McCoy and Barry Geraghty will be present.

The Desert Orchid suite will be open to the public, with tea, coffee and bacon rolls served from 8.15am. The charge is £5.

£5 for a bacon roll? mark definately wont be there then,anyway really looking forward to cheltenham now!! the top racing festival in the world imo

Below is what its all about

Looks good, but do they have an Elevation Room ? Don't forget the prize draw which you can only win if you are there.

Mullins: Hurricane Fly will miss Cheltenham
SUPREME Novices' Hurdle favourite Hurricane Fly will miss the Cheltenham Festival, trainer Willie Mullins confirmed on Tuesday.


The French import, successful in four of his five starts over hurdles since coming to Ireland, was quoted at 4-1 ‘with a run’ by William Hill, new sponsors of the Supreme Novices Hurdle.


The dual Grade 1 winning hurdler was withdrawn from the recent Grade 1 Deloitte Hurdle when he was found to be lame on the eve of the race. Mullins admitted he had run out of time to get the five-year-old back to full fitness from his recent splint problem.

“We’ve decided not to train him for Cheltenham as he has not made the improvement we had hoped for,” said Mullins on Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re going to concentrate on Punchestown with him and while it’s disappointing, the upside is that it will come right as it just needs time.”

Mullins still has Cousin Vinny at the head of the market for the Festival opener along with Mikael D’Haguenet and Kempes.

"Kempes will probably now run in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle but I haven't made any firmplans for the other horses yet.

"It's bad luck with Hurricane Fly but that is the way it works and worse things have happened."

Are those real people in the stands or just super imposed by Sponsors.

At Turfies you can count on your fingers and toes the spectators. Assuming you can find someone to count to 21 uh mean 20 uh 19 no 20

Strange i remembered our tracks and stands being that popular on a regular basis,how do they manage to keep it up especially when so many are on the dole???