Down Royal option for Young Master Neil Mulholland is leaning towards letting The Young Master take his chance in the JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday week in preparation for a crack at the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury. The six-year-old made great waves last season, for the right and wrong reasons. Having been disqualified from 'winning' the Badger Ales Trophy as he was not qualified for the race, he then went to Ascot and claimed an even more valuable contest. A flat run in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham was attributed to coming at the end of a season which had seen him progress rapidly, and Mulholland feels there is still plenty of room for manoeuvre over fences off a handicap mark of 150. "His big target is the Hennessy and we need to decide whether or not he runs before then," said the Wiltshire handler. "I probably won't even enter him for the Charlie Hall at Wetherby, but we could go to Down Royal, which would be nice as James Nicholson (sponsor) has horses with me. "If he runs I'd obviously prefer to meet horses on level terms and the Down Royal race could cut up to only six runners and it's good prize-money. "That is a possibility if it looks like cutting up into a small field. He'd be going to do his best, but it would be hard to fancy him. "I'm also looking at the Hennessy for The Druids Nephew, who will start off in the West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby. "Carole's Destrier is also going for the Hennessy and he could start off in an intermediate chase at Carlisle."
