No rush on Tank Cheltenham target

Philip Fenton insists any decision on The Tullow Tank's potential Cheltenham Festival target will not be made until much nearer the time ahead of his bid for a Grade One hat-trick in the Deloitte Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday.

Remarkably, the six-year-old was well beaten on his first two starts over obstacles last season, he but has returned this term a vastly improved individual.

Since getting off the mark at Naas in early November, The Tullow Tank has clinched the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse and the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown in impressive fashion.

He steps up from two miles to two and a quarter this weekend and could either go back down for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle or up in distance for the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Fenton said: "The Tullow Tank came out of the Future Champions Novice Hurdle genuinely as good as he has from any of his other races and he's fresh and well. He had an easy 10 days or so after Leopardstown.

"He has surprised us this season. Last year he looked average and he was still developing, but we took our time with him and those couple of runs over hurdles last season have helped him to grow up. When he won his bumper last season we felt that he might develop into a novice hurdler this season, but we didn't expect him to be a Grade One horse.

"The two-mile-two should suit him and the ground should be up his alley, I think. Ground will have a big bearing on what happens at Cheltenham."

The Tullow Tank faces five rivals, headed by the Willie Mullins-trained Vautour, who is unbeaten in two starts over hurdles since his arrival from France.

Completing the sextet are the Eoin Griffin-trained Azorian, Tony Martin's Quickpic Vic, John Ryan's Draycott Place and Pat Shanahan's King Of The Picts.