Un De Sceaux's connections confident Un De Sceaux aims to get back on the winning trail in the Devenish Chase at Fairyhouse on Monday after his surprise defeat in the Ryanair Chase. Willie Mullins' 10-year-old had no answer to Balko Des Flos at the Cheltenham Festival, but is out again with conditions in his favour once more. A prolific Grade One winner, he takes a slight drop in grade but that means he is giving weight away to some useful rivals. Part-owner Colm O'Connell said: "Away we go again, we've got his ground. "I don't want to give any excuses, on the day he wasn't good enough in the Ryanair. He had his ground, he had everything. I've looked at it a couple of times, but the result is still the same. (Monday) is a way of looking forward, we can forget the past. "He's giving weight away, but he still comes out top on the figures. We'll go there confident but, after what happened, with respect of the opposition." He added: "It looks a good bit of placing, he's only had three races this season and I wouldn't have thought Cheltenham took a lot out of him. "I suppose it's slightly comforting that the winner won so easy, it wouldn't have mattered what we did differently. There was no hard-luck story. "If he wins we can head to Punchestown with a spring in his step. "We go there confident, but a small bit more reserved." Eddie Harty's Coney Island is the second highest-rated runner in the race, just 2lb behind Un De Sceaux although they meet at level weights. Another factor to overcome is that Coney Island's last race at Ascot was the first time he has disappointed in his career, in the Grade One won by Waiting Patiently. "Nothing ever came to light for Ascot, it was just one of those things," said Harty, "We're running here not because I think we've got a really good chance of beating Un De Sceaux over this trip and in very soft ground, but because we need to get him going again and there aren't very many other options. "The horse seems well and he needs to run, so hopefully we can leave Ascot behind and move on." Gordon Elliott runs Doctor Phoenix and A Toi Phil, while the Harry Fry-trained Kylemore Lough is the sole British representative. Bargain-buy Doctor Phoenix has been a revelation this season for the Nick Bradley Racing Club, whose National Hunt racing manager Will Smith is excited to be rolling the dice once more. "We weren't actually going to run but when we saw there weren't many entries, we put him in," said Smith. "Obviously there are some high-class ones, b ut the prize-money is good and we've got a horse in top form. "The only question mark is the trip, he's done all his racing over shorter this season, though he did win over two and a half for David Dennis over hurdles - at a lower grade, admittedly. "He certainly shapes like he will stay and when we bought him, it was with a slight eye on him stepping up in trip at some stage. "Gordon and the team have worked wonders, he's on great terms with himself, so why not have another go?"
