Next stop Cheltenham for two of de Bromhead's big guns

Henry de Bromhead moved onto the 75 winner mark for the season when recording a double at Naas yesterday.

Maiden hurdle winner Mr Incredible was the first leg of the brace before Eklat De Rire showed a really polished jumping technique when making all in the Grade 3 Naas Business Club Novice Chase.

The Knockeen handler’s best ever tally was 98 winners in the 2018-19 campaign and, with three months of the season remaining, reaching a hundred winners in a season for the first time looks a formality.

The graph has been steadily upwards for de Bromhead in recent years and only once in the last ten seasons has his strike-rate dipped below 15 per cent.

A really strong team of horses will represent the trainer at Leopardstown this weekend but de Bromhead also had news of a couple of inmates likely to bypass the Dublin Racing Festival.

Dual Grade 2 winner Aspire Tower was last seen when runner-up to Sharjah in the Matheson Hurdle over Christmas and, although one of only nine entries for Saturday’s Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle, is likely to have next outing in March.

“Aspire Tower will probably go straight to Cheltenham (a general 12/1 chance for the Unibet Champion Hurdle six weeks from tomorrow). He's still a baby so we backed off him since Christmas - he’s filling out again and looks brilliant."

The Stowaway mare Put The Kettle On, winner of last year’s Racing Post Arkle and unbeaten in three starts at Cheltenham, finished a creditable third to Chacun Pour Soi at Leopardstown in December and will have a couple of options when she heads back to the Cotswolds next month.

“Put The Kettle On didn’t get an entry at Leopardstown and is aiming for the spring as well,” said de Bromhead.

“We’ll probably enter her in the Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase (run over 2m4f as the penultimate race on Gold Cup day) at Cheltenham as well as the Champion Chase.

"You could argue her form is much better over two miles but I think we should definitely have her entered in it (the mares’ chase).”