Taaffe Pondering Cheltenham Options

Tom Taaffe is eyeing up a tilt at the £50,000 Grade Two Mears Group Silver Trophy Chase, a limited handicap over two miles and five furlongs at Cheltenham on Wednesday, April 16, with his lightly-race Glenfinn Captain.

Owned by J P McManus, the nine-year-old failed to regain his form after being sidelined for 11 months before showing some of his old sparkle on his most recent start when chasing home Schindlers Hunt in fifth in the Tattersalls Ireland Dan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse over Easter.

That was over four furlongs shorter, but the County Kildare handler thinks that the step up in trip may help Glenfinn Captain to regain his form. Taaffe was also confident that the gelding would handle the undulating track, where the trainer had his biggest success to date when Kicking King landed the 2005 totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

"It will depend on the weights but we are certainly considering the Mears Group Silver Trophy Chase for Glenfinn Captain. He is good form at home and he ran well in the Tattersalls Dan Moore at Fairyhouse. We just want to have a closer look at the weights but it is definitely an option," explained the handler.

"The track won´t worry him. He has lost his way a bit of late. He got a bad colic 18 months ago and he seems to have just lost his confidence and form. He is slowly getting it back and we´d be hoping that the step up in trip will help him."

As the weights stand, Glenfinn Captain would be 5lb out of the handicap on the minimum weight of 10st 4lb.

The other potential Irish raider in the entry of 28 is the Charlie Swan-trained Foreman, who also carries the colours of leading owner J P McManus.

Also entered is the Venetia Williams-trained Stan, who ran out a two-length winner of the Red Rum Handicap Chase over two miles at Aintree earlier this month. He looks set to carry the minimum weight of 10st 4lb should top-weight Mister McGoldrick, winner of the Grade Three Racing Post Plate at The Festival last month, stand his ground on 11st 10lb.

Behind Stan at Liverpool was Calatagan, who is entered along with stable mate Classic Capers by trainer Malcolm Jefferson. Venetia Williams has also given Nice Try an entry.

With four entered, John Smith´s Grand National-winning trainer David Pipe has the most entries at this stage. They are headed by Celestial Gold on 10st 12lb and course and distance winner Vodka Bleu, while Abragante and Lucifer Bleu complete his quartet.

Paul Nicholls´ trio of entries includes Grade Two novice chase winner Oslot, while the trainer, who has won three of the last six renewals of this race, is also represented by Ofarel D´Airy and Natal.

Other entries include Nigel Twiston-Davies´ Fundamentalist and Nicky Richards´ hat-trick seeking Native Coral.

Entries for the Listed raceodds.com Mares Handicap Hurdle were revealed today and the £40,000 contest over and extended two miles and five furlongs on day two of the April Meeting has attracted 24 top-class mares.

David Nicholson Mares Hurdle third and fourth, the Nicky Henderson-trained Chomba Womba and David Pipe-trained Gaspara, head the entries, while Jaunty Flight, winner of a similar contest at Newbury late last month, is also entered by Oliver Sherwood.

Runner-up to Jaunty Flight was the Jonjo O´Neill-trained Castlecrossings, who is among the entries, along with third-placed Amber Brook. Dancing Dasi and Katess, who were both behind that trio at Newbury, have also been engaged.

The ground at Cheltenham is currently described as good, with a GoingStick reading of 8.3. With mixed showers and sunshine forecast over the coming days, the course may be watered if necessary to maintain good ground.

Meanwhile, the Gloucestershire Trainers´ Championship will be awarded after racing on Friday, April 18, and looks set to be won by either Nigel Twiston-Davies or Charlie Longsdon. The winning trainer will receive a hamper on the day, while a handcrafted rocking horse worth £3,500 will be produced in the livery of their favourite horse by Stevenson Brothers.

For the first time, the Frequent Runner Championship takes in the April Meeting at Cheltenham and Twiston-Davies looks to have a strong chance of winning this award along with Paul Nicholls. The winning trainer will receive a Theault Horsebox on a free 12 month lease.

The inaugural Leading Rider and Trainer Awards will also be presented on Friday. Sponsored by Mark Stoddart, both winners will receive a coffee table with a bronze animal sculpture in the centre.

These titles also look set to go down to the wire, with Twiston-Davies leading on 10 winners, but closely followed by Alan King on nine and both David Pipe and Paul Nicholls on seven. Paddy Brennan is the current leading jockey on 10 winners, but he has Choc Thornton (nine), Ruby Walsh (seven) and Richard Johnson (six) breathing down his neck.