Demon Primed For Chepstow Test Leading Arkle Challenge Trophy contender Racing Demon will continue his Cheltenham preparations in tomorrow´s Letheby & Christopher Novices´ Chase at Chepstow. The Henrietta Knight-trained gelding has been off the track since lifting the Henry VIII Novices´ Chase in December as a combination of unsuitable ground and a tooth abscess has seen him miss three possible outings. Racing Demon had been entered in a Grade One event at Sandown tomorrow but Knight has opted to bypass that run and take advantage of the easier ground at Chepstow. The trainer told At The Races: 'I didn´t run at Sandown on Boxing Day because I felt the ground down by the Railway Fences was too quick, therefore having had no rain since Christmas I imagine it would be no better on Saturday. 'I don´t really know how he will fare at Chepstow because I´m not an expert on the course as I don´t have many runners there, but everyone tells me it´s a very big, galloping track for young horses.' Racing Demon will be without regular partner Timmy Murphy on Sunday as the rider is required to ride at Musselburgh for his retained owner David Johnson. Sam Thomas takes over in the plate and Knight is confident he will prove an able deputy. 'Sam has ridden the horse a lot at home and knows the horse very well. He´s very happy to be riding the horse,' she added. Racing Demon is currently the general 5-1 joint favourite with Accordion Etoile for the Arkle and Knight rates her six-year-old´s rival most highly. She explained: 'Accordion Etoile is a horse I´ve always liked and he would be a serious threat to any horse in the Arkle. 'I wasn´t too impressed with Justified at Newbury but he is obviously a very good horse and Missed That impresses me a lot, but there are some very good horses in the race.'(C) PA Sport
