Knight To Have All-Weather Prep

Blythe Knight is set to have an unusual preparation for the Cheltenham Festival by running in the pontins.com Conditions Stakes at Wolverhampton on Friday.

The 2006 Lincoln winner has proved himself more than adequate over timber but Malton trainer John Quinn is even considering a tilt at the Winter Derby at Lingfield on March 24 for the dual purpose performer.

After disappointing on his second start over hurdles in soft ground at Uttoxeter, he chased home De Soto in a decent event at Christmas and would appear to be a live outsider for Festival honours, if the ground ever dries up.

'Blythe Knight handles a bit of cut in the ground, as he proved when he handled it very well in the Lincoln,' said Quinn.

'But he wants good, Flat ground, which may even be good to firm over hurdles.

'He is going to run on Friday at Wolverhampton in a conditions race on the level. I think I will enter him in the Winter Derby as well as he is a good horse on the all-weather.

'He may not run again until the Supreme Novices' Hurdle after Friday though, that would be some prep wouldn't it?

'I will enter Blythe Knight, Kings Quay, Leslingtaylor and Pevensey for the Supreme. If one of them proves good enough we may have just the one runner or maybe two and we will see how the others progress.

'They could go handicapping or wait for Liverpool. While Cheltenham is a wonderful Festival, it is not the be all and end all.'

Pevensey, a winner at Musselburgh on Friday, will wait until the ground dries out before he reappears.

'He has come out of Musselburgh fine. You see a lot of them get beat with penalties so it was nice to see him win,' said Quinn.

'I won't do anything in a hurry with him. We will just take our time as we have no real specific plans.

'The ground wasn't too bad at Musselburgh and he went through it fine.

'The thing is with these Flat horses though is that they just can't get through the ground like it is at most of the tracks at the minute. It is just too soft for them.'

Blythe Knight is 20-1 with Bet 365 for the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle while Pevensey can be backed at 33-1 with SkyBet for the same race.

(C) PA Sport