Weighting Is Over For 10 Festival Handicaps

With less than a fortnight until The Festival begins at Cheltenham, interest in the 10 ultra-competitive handicaps is sure to intensify following today's publication of the races' weights.

Moulin Riche, trained in France by Francois Doumen, has been backed into favouritism for the WILLIAM HILL TROPHY HANDICAP CHASE, in which he has been allotted 10st with stablemate L'Ami heading the weights on 11st 12lb.

Last year's winner Spot Thedifference tops the SPORTING INDEX HANDICAP CHASE field on 11st 12lb, with Ivoire De Beaulieu, who scored over Cheltenham's cross-country course in December, on 11st 1lb.

Paul Nicholls has four of the top 10 weighted horses in the FRED WINTER JUVENILE HANDICAP HURDLE, while there are 80 horses in the handicap for the CORAL CUP, in which last year's winner Idole First has 11st 5lb, 9lb more than in 2005, and the Francois Doumen-trained Blue Canyon has top weight of 11st 12lb.

The Nicholls-trained Armaturk has top weight of 11st 12lb in both the RACING POST PLATE and JOHNNY HENDERSON GRAND ANNUAL HANDICAP CHASE.

Doumen's son Thierry trains Foreman, who heads the JEWSON NOVICES' HANDICAP CHASE off 11st 10lb, while the Martin Pipe-trained Korelo tops the PERTEMPS FINAL - as he did 12 months ago at this stage - on 11st 12lb.

No less than 102 of the FULKE WALWYN KIM MUIR HANDICAP CHASE entries are in the handicap while possible Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle supplementary entry Briareus tops the VINCENT O'BRIEN COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE. The progressive Studmaster, trained by Jessica Harrington, has 11st 5lb.

The top weights are as follows:

• WILLIAM HILL TROPHY HANDICAP CHASE 11-12L'Ami (Francois Doumen FR)

• SPORTING INDEX HANDICAP CHASE 11-12Spot Thedifference (Enda Bolger IRE)

• FRED WINTER JUVENILE HANDICAP HURDLE 11-12Turko (Paul Nicholls)

• CORAL CUP (HANDICAP HURDLE) 11-12Blue Canyon (Francois Doumen FR)

• FULKE WALWYN KIM MUIR HANDICAP CHASE 11-13All In The Stars (Paul Keane)

• JEWSON NOVICES' HANDICAP CHASE 11-10Foreman (Thierry Doumen FR)

• RACING POST PLATE (HANDICAP CHASE) 11-12Armaturk (Paul Nicholls)

• PERTEMPS FINAL (HANDICAP HURDLE) 11-12 Korelo (Martin Pipe)

• JOHNNY HENDERSON GRAND ANNUAL CHASE 11-12Armaturk (Paul Nicholls)

• VINCENT O´BRIEN COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE 11-12Briareus (Andrew Balding)