Good news for Cheltenham Festival hopes: Horse Racing

By HOTSPUR (J A McGrath) Published: 5:10PM GMT twenty-three February 2010

King ace: Triumph Hurdle prime Mille Chief on the gallops at Alan King"s stables Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Following 60mm of sleet in the past five days, the belligerent at the lane on Saturday might still be roving usually "Soft to Heavy".

"It is remarkable, really," pronounced "Barney" Clifford, Kempton"s clerk of the course. "If the foresee is correct, we could additionally have an one more 25mm this week, that would move the sum to around 3 and a half inches in the "old currency" given last Wednesday.

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"But we should be OK. There"s no denote that there will be any serious dump in temperature, so there"s no need for the ice covers," he added.

Trainer Alan King, who braved the sleet to control a Press day at his Barbury Castle stables yesterday, will have been relieved to listen to Clifford"s enlivening going inform last night. King is concerned to get a run in to a series of his heading Cheltenham Festival contenders, together with Mille Chief, his 5-1 Triumph Hurdle favourite.

King had no perplexity is nominating the four-year-old as one of the most appropriate he"s trained, formed on the horse"s home work, but his performances on the racecourse have additionally been noteworthy, with the usually cut being when he was brought down on entrance in a competition at Huntingdon.

The immature hurdler had been scheduled to crop up at Huntingdon again prior to a slight reversal stirred a shift of plan. He is approaching to come up opposite a decent margin on Saturday, together with the Highclere Thoroughbreds syndicate"s Super Kenny, a leader of dual races (including a Chantilly neophyte event) for Nicolas Clement in France prior to being purchased and sent to Nicky Henderson. Reports indicate he is approaching to have his participation felt.

An already fender Kempton label has been increased serve right away that a Kingwell Hurdle lookalike competition has been combined to the card, to illustrate giving Henderson"s Punjabi his possibility to have a plain hit-out prior to fortifying his pretension in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Channel-4 will show a replay of the race, that is the initial of eight. "They will get the most appropriate of the ground," pronounced Clifford.

Nacarat, leader of the Racing Post Chase twelve months ago, is one sixteen declarations for this year"s event. The weights are headed by Madison Du Berlais.

There was unsatisfactory headlines yesterday per Tazbar, who has been ruled out of the RSA Chase at the Festival and will miss the rest of the deteriorate after deleterious a tendon.

Keith Reveley"s sparkling immature chaser had won 3 of his 4 chases, his usually better being at the back of the RSA Chase second prime Long Run in the Felthamn Chase at Kempton over Christmas.