Pedro On Course For County Bid

After finishing a close third in the totesport Trophy last time out, Pedrobob is likely to bid for compensation in the Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Tony Mullins-trained nine-year-old also crossed the Irish Sea last November but failed to land the odds when sent off favourite for another Cheltenham handicap.

Although initially disappointed, Mullins now feels the slightly below-par run may have been a blessing in disguise.

'Pedrobob is on course for the County and we have provisionally booked Davy Russell to ride him but 10st could be a problem for him,' he explained.

'I think that (Cheltenham run) was the worst run of his life but it was his first time to travel and his first time in a handicap.

'On the day I was disappointed but looking back on it I don't think it was that bad a run and he was only beaten a few lengths.

'He's better in at the weights in England and because of that run he seems to be reasonably well treated ? better than some of the other Irish horses anyway.'

Pedrobob was only just over two lengths off scooping a sizeable first prize at Newbury last month.

'You get disappointed when you get so close but the horse ran very well,' he continued.

'You would know he'd had a race at Newbury and he's only really starting to fire again now but he is that type of horse.

'He's a horse that can get a bit light after his races and we're happy enough but he hasn't yet done any fast work since.

'He's won on hard, he's won on heavy, and he's also won on dead ground, so there are no worries there.'

Pedrobob can be backed at 16-1 with William Hill to land the final race of the 2007 Festival.

(C) PA Sport