Strong Festival Team For French Master

Clues as to the make-up of a key section of the French challenge for next month's Cheltenham Festival emerged as trainer Arnaud Chaille-Chaille confirmed details of his planned raiding party.

Francois Doumen may be better known to British racing fans for flying the flag with the likes of Baracouda and The Fellow at Cheltenham, but 41-year-old Chaille-Chaille enjoyed his best-ever finish when second in last season's trainers' championship and his stable now houses many of France's best jumpers.

And the man who trains opposite Guillaume Macaire near Royan on the south-west coast of France hopes to make his mark on the other side of the Channel in the coming weeks when he saddles Zaiyad, Ambobo, Mid Dancer, Oh Calin and Sunspot at the Festival.

All five of those horses are owned by Chaille-Chaille's leading backer, Irish property tycoon Sean Mulryan, who has a total of 20 jumpers at the stable which includes some exciting prospects for future seasons.

It is the influence of Mulryan and his desire to see his colours carried to victory at the home of jumps racing that will see the trainer visit the Festival for the first time having not made the trip despite running Bonbon Rose in the Triumph Hurdle last season.

Chief among the team is Ambobo, a diminutive but powerful hurdler who impressed many when winning at Cheltenham last January only for a leg fracture to prevent him from being able to line up in the Royal & SunAlliance Hurdle.

His injuries now healed, Ambobo returned at Pau three weeks ago and is on course to run in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, for which he is a 12-1 chance with Coral.

Chaille-Chaille expressed 'a little' doubt over the gelding's stamina for the three-mile-plus trip of the World Hurdle, but said: 'I could not drop him back to two miles for the Champion so going up was the only option for him.

'He is a tough horse and that is what I think you need at Cheltenham ? a horse who does not give too much of himself early in the race so that he can come up the hill.

'He liked the course when he won there last year and we will hope to get Barry Geraghty to ride again.'

? PA Sport