Weld has Passage concerns

Dermot Weld has admitted to a slight concern about Rite Of Passage's ability to handle the "hustle and bustle" of the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle.

The six-year-old finished third behind Dunguib in the Champion Bumper last year and landed the November Handicap on the level in impressive fashion from Champion Hurdle-bound Donnas Palm.

However, due to the bad weather this winter, Weld has only been able to run him twice over hurdles.

"He's in good form, he's a nice horse. The key to him is we've got to depend a little bit on his own natural talent because he's only run twice over hurdles," said Weld.

"The hustle and bustle of a very competitive race at Cheltenham would be my only concern.

"He jumps well, he's a very athletic sort of horse but you must remember he's only had two runs over hurdles and after Cheltenham he'll revert back to racing on the Flat.

"It's pretty certain he'll run in the Neptune, he'd only go in the Supreme if something went wrong with Dunguib."

Weld believes Prince Erik holds strong claims in Thursday's Pertemps Final at Cheltenham.

The six-year-old finished sixth in the 2007 Irish Derby and has even had a spell chasing recently.

However, he caught the eye of many people when when winning a Pertemps Qualifier at Leopardstown in January by six lengths.

"Prince Erik is a character and he likes things to go his way. When they do he can be quite good," said Weld.

"He was a decent horse on the Flat and he appeared to stay the three miles well at Leopardstown, he appears to be going there with a very good chance.

"He's pretty adaptable, good ground or good to yielding would be preferred.

"He ran in the Irish Derby a few years ago, he appreciates things going his own way and he's in a good frame of mind at the moment.

"I think we'll stick with the winning team from Leopardstown so it's pretty much certain that Robbie Power will ride him," he told At The Races.