Nolan considers Prince options

Paul Nolan has a number of options in mind for his Cheltenham Festival winner Noble Prince including a couple Punchestown Festival which takes place May 3-7.

Noble Prince appreciated the step up in trip at Prestbury Park when running on strongly to land the Grade Two Jewson Novices' Chase from Wishfull Thinking and that form received a boost when the runner-up impressed at Aintree last week.

Nolan revealed that he has two targets in mind for his seven year old: "Noble Prince will be entered in the two-mile and the three-mile at Punchestown and the Powers Gold Cup over two and a half miles at Fairyhouse - it will be all ground dependent as to where we go with him. He will be given all options and will go wherever the ground is good and safe.

"You are always hoping that beaten horses will go on to show that it was a reasonably decent race, so it was pleasing to see Wishfull Thinking win like he did. The Jewson was a Grade Two but as far as I'm concerned it probably should be upgraded to a Grade One."

The Growise Champion Novice Chase is one of three Grade One races on the Festival's opening day, Tuesday, May 3, while the Grade One Ryanair Novice Chase is on Thursday, May 5.

The County Wexford handler could also be represented at Punchestown by Far Away So Close who ran out a game winner of the John Smith's Handicap Hurdle on Grand National day at Aintree with the www.thetote.com Handicap Hurdle under consideration.

"There is no reason why Far Away So Close won't go for another handicap hurdle. He just wasn't good enough in those better races and he has found a level now. He won the other day and hopefully he will still have a chance in a handicap over here, and then we will go over fences with him." said Nolan.

"I wouldn't mind stepping him up to two and a half miles next time. He showed real guts all the way to the line the other day.

"He is such an exposed horse and with those horses you don't think there is much in hand because the handicapper has seen them fairly often but I suppose he wasn't really right when he ran in Cheltenham in November, and then he came back home and ran on heavy ground. He was a different horse on that nicer ground - he's by Norwich and they normally like better ground.

"He is a horse that showed a lot of guts in battling back after he was headed at Aintree. They went a rocket gallop and he stayed on well. Normally, when you see a horse being a little bit free in the race and pulling themselves to the front, like he was, you expect that they won't find much when they come off the bridle but he found plenty."