Racing Demon Set For Guinness Gold Cup

The Henrietta Knight-trained Racing Demon, who has had a frustrating season since winning the Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon in November, was today confirmed a likely starter in the Grade 1 Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup at the Irish National Hunt Festival on Wednesday, April 25. He is one a 28-strong entry revealed today for the EUR250,000 event.

Knight felt the seven-year-old did not enjoy the left-handed track when most recently fifth in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham on March 15.

'The plan at the moment is to go for the Guinness Gold Cup if the ground remains OK. He's come out of the Cheltenham race very well and the plan now is to keep him to right-handed tracks if possible,' said Knight.

'It's been a very up and down season. He hasn't really had a full season because he fell and ran loose on the first occasion and then ran two good races at Huntingdon (won the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase) and in the King George (third) at Kempton. Then of course he had the fall over hurdles and he ran off right-handed a bit at Cheltenham.

'I think the jury's still out regarding the trip but we can only find out by running him over it. I think he stayed three miles in the King George. He had quite a lot of use made of him early on and the ground was quite soft and probably tired him out a bit, whereas Exotic Dancer was cleverly ridden and came from behind to take second.

'I don't know how he'll get on at Punchestown - up hill, down dale and three miles one - but we've got to try it. We're hoping for the best.

'We've never won a race there although we've been second a few times, so it hasn't been the luckiest place for us but you can't keep looking at the past, you've got to look forward and the horse is certainly very well.'

Other British-trained entries for the Grade 1 Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup include the Paul Nicholls-trained Taranis, winner of the Ryanair Chase, and his stablemates Neptune Collonges and My Will.

Turpin Green, Monkerhostin and Cane Brake, respectively third, fourth and fifth in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, are other possible starters while the novices Snowy Morning and Cailin Alainn are engaged along with the past two John Smith's Grand National winners, Numbersixvalverde and Hedgehunter.

Strong Flow - a 14-length winner of the 2003 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup when trained by Paul Nicholls - could also line up. The 10-year-old, now trained on the Curragh by Dessie Hughes, ran in a point-to-point yesterday (Sunday).

'I think he had a ligament problem and a growth in his knee when he was with Paul Nicholls and he joined me in the New Year. He's a lovely horse - he's grand. We'll see how he goes between now and Punchestown but that race is a possibility,' said Hughes.

'Our intention was to run him in a hunter chase first and he's in at Fairyhouse on Sunday but unfortunately he fell at the last fence yesterday in a point-to-point at Ballynoe, so he didn't qualify for that. The plans are up in the air at the moment but he's none the worse for the fall.'