Victor Chandler for Master Clive Smith has confirmed that Master Minded will take in the Victor Chandler Chase en-route to Cheltenham. The Paul Nicholls-trained gelding, winner of two sportingbet.com Queen Mother Champion Chases at the Festival, will be bidding to regain his crown in March after being beaten by Big Zeb last season. "I think last year he had the interrupution before Christmas when he had a cracked rib and had a break in the training programme and just never quite got back to his best for the Festival," the owner told At The Races. "This year he has had an uninterrupted programme and seems much better. I think he's in better shape this year than last year at this time and is in very good order and we're very hopeful about Cheltenham but we'll see how he goes at Ascot first." Master Minded is 7-4 with Sky Bet to win a third Champion Chase in March.
