45 For Boylesports.com Gold Cup

The £150,000 Boylesports.com Gold Cup, the Grade Three handicap chase run over two miles and five furlongs on the second day of the Boylesports International at Cheltenham, Saturday, December 15, has attracted 45 entries for the 2007 renewal.

The first seven horses home from Cheltenham's first major race of the season, the Paddy Power Gold Cup at The Open on November 17, are all entered in the Boylesports.com Gold Cup. In the Paddy Power Gold Cup, L'Antartique (7/1 joint-favourite with Boylesports) beat Il Duce (12/1) by a head with Knowhere (10/1) a length and a quarter back in third. L'Antartique's trainer Ferdy Murphy also has New Alco (8/1) and Three Mirrors (20/1) entered for the Boylesports.com Gold Cup with the trainer recently nominating Three Mirrors, who finished 12th in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, as his main hope for the December 15 contest.

Other Paddy Power Gold Cup contestants entered in the Boylepsorts.com Gold Cup are Palarshan (4th in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, 10/1 for the Boylesports.com Gold Cup), Patman du Charmil (5th, 16/1), Bob Hall (6th, 20/1), Copsale Lad (7th, 14/1), Private Be (11th, 16/1), Black Hills (14th, 25/1), Vodka Bleu (15th, 20/1) and Idole First (pulled-up, 16/1).

If he were to line up and be successful, L'Antartique would become the ninth horse to win both the Boylesports.com Gold Cup and the Paddy Power Gold Cup, but only the fourth to achieve this feat in the same season following Pegwell Bay (1998), Senor El Betrutti (1997) and Exotic Dancer (2006).

Trainer Milton Harris is eyeing a crack at the Boylesports.com Gold Cup with his stable star Magic Sky, who has more than paid his way for the Northamptonshire-based handler since being bought out of a selling hurdle for 11,500 guineas at Uttoxeter in October, 2006.

The seven-year-old has not enjoyed the best of luck so far this season, finishing eighth, beaten just over eight lengths, behind Knowhere in the Pyments Quantity Surveyors Handicap Chase at Cheltenham's Showcase meeting on October 20, when he was badly hampered two fences from home. Last time out he was the runner-up, beaten two and a half lengths, behind Hoo La Baloo in a decent handicap chase at Ascot on November 24, when he blundered at the last and caused his jockey, Charlie Poste, to lose his irons. Magic Sky is currently rated a 33/1 chance with Boylesports, but Harris is no stranger to providing long-priced winners at Cheltenham, having recorded a 33/1 success with Paxford Jack in a novices' chase at this meeting in 2002.

Harris said today: 'Magic Sky was very unfortunate at Ascot last Saturday.

'The aim is now to go for the Boylesports.com Gold Cup. Now that he is rated 143, we are not over-burdened with choices as to where he can go.

'He is entered to run at Newbury this weekend and he could run there before Cheltenham, as he came out of his last run in such good form.

'He didn't enjoy the best of luck at Cheltenham earlier in the season and I think he certainly has the ability to win a decent prize. My main worry is that he could always be vulnerable to a better-handicapped horse at the bottom of the handicap - probably something with an Irish name!

'He would prefer soft ground, the softer the ground the better for him really. He ran on good ground over hurdles earlier in the year as he needed a run.

'Although he has mostly run over two miles, I actually think he is a better horse over two and a half miles. The reason he has run over two miles since I have trained him is simply because there are fewer opportunities over two and a half.'

The likely top-weight is the David Pipe-trained Our Vic (12/1), a high-class performer who was only beaten a neck in the Ryanair Trophy at The Festival on March 15. He could be joined by stablemates Madison du Berlais (10/1), who finished third in the 2006 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase at The Festival, Tamarinbleu (14/1), sixth in the 2006 Paddy Power Gold Cup and last seen out when winning at Perth in April, Abragante (7/1 joint-favourite), a facile winner of the Listed Badger Ales Trophy at Wincanton on November 10 before failing to make the cut for the Paddy Power Gold Cup, Whispered Secret (16/1), successful over the course and distance in the Ladbrokes Trophy Chase on January 27 (when recent Haydock scorer Roman Ark finished fourth) and Vodka Bleu.

Six Irish-trained horses have won the boylesports.com Gold Cup since its inception in 1963 and there are a total of three horses from Ireland entered this year. The trio are the Tom Taaffe-trained Slim Pickings (16/1), a gallant third in last season's John Smith's Grand National, Knight Legend (14/1), trained by Jessica Harrington and triumphant in a Grade Three event at Punchestown in October and The Railway Man (14/1) from the Arthur Moore stable, a Grade One winner as a novice in 2006 and successful on his seasonal reappearance over hurdles at Naas on November 11.

Reigning champion trainer Paul Nicholls has yet to taste success in the Boylesports.com Gold Cup and has a quartet to choose from this time around. Cerium (20/1) finished ninth behind Exotic Dancer last year while Turko (20/1) ran well when seventh behind stablemate Denman in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at The Festival. Nicholls' two other possible starters are Le Volfoni (16/1), who finished a close fourth behind Idole First in the Racing Post Plate at The Festival and New Little Bric (12/1), winner of the Grade One Scilly Isles Novices' Chase at Sandown last season and fourth behind Howle Hill on his seasonal reappearance at Ascot on November 24.

Jonjo O'Neill, who saddled Exotic Dancer to victory last year and also Legal Right in 1999, has three entered this year. The Jackdaws Castle trio are Bob Hall, sixth in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, Newman des Plages (16/1), a very useful performer in France but slightly disappointing on his British debut at Aintree on November 25 and Fier Normand (16/1), runner-up behind the Alan King-trained Howle Hill (12/1), in a valuable intermediate handicap chase at Ascot on November 24.

A very interesting entry is Imperial Commander (12/1), trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies. The six-year-old, Grade One-placed in novice hurdles, is unbeaten over fences with both his victories coming at Cheltenham, most recently the Steel Plate & Sections Novices' Chase on November 16 when he scored by 11 lengths.

A maximum field of 17 is allowed to go to post, which means there could be some disappointed connections after 45 were entered. The weights are revealed on December 5.

OPENING SHOW FROM BOYLESPORTS ON THE Boylesports.com GOLD CUP

L´Antartique 7/1, Abragante 7/1, New Alco 8/1, Palarshan 10/1, Knowhere 10/1, Madison du Berlais 10/1, Our Vic 12/1, New Little Bric 12/1, Kalca Mome 12/1, Howle Hill 12/1, Ungaro 12/1, Il Duce 12/1, Imperial Commander 12/1, Limited Edition 12/1, Copsale Lad 14/1, Roman Ark 14/1, The Railway Man 14/1, Knight Legend 14/1, Tamarinbleu 14/1, Jack The Giant 14/1, Slim Pickings 16/1, Le Volfoni 16/1, Idole First 16/1, Private Be 16/1, Newman des Plages 16/1, Patman di Charmil 16/1, Fier Nomand 16/1, Whispered Secret 16/1, Bob Hall 20/1, Ardaghey 20/1, Tidal Fury 20/1, Yes Sir 20/1, Faasel 20/1, Turko 20/1, Too Forward 20/1, Cerium 20/1, Three Mirrors 20/1, Our Armageddon 20/1, Vodka Bleu 20/1, Tikram 25/1, Black Hills 25/1, Regal Heights 25/1, Magic Sky 33/1, Mr Boo 40/1, The Reverend 40/1