Forward To Cheltenham Too Forward will attempt to return to Cheltenham in style in the Unicoin Homes Handicap Chase on Monday.The gelding, who will be celebrating his 11th birthday that afternoon, made a winning reappearance at Wetherby in late October but could not reproduce that form two weeks later in the Paddy Power Gold Cup when only ninth behind Exotic Dancer.Trainer Carl Llewellyn said: 'In hindsight I probably ran him too quickly after the Wetherby race.'I think the ground at Wetherby was wet and easy to go through, while next time it was slightly tackier. He's a good mover, and I think the combination of ground and the fact that he had two quick races just found him out.'He's had a nice break since then, however, and I'm hoping the weather stays dry between now and the race. He seems back to the kind of form he was in before Wetherby, so we're hopeful of a good run.'It will be a very tough race, but we go there with a sound chance. Each horse has his day in these competitive handicaps, and hopefully it will be ours on New Year's Day. Timmy Murphy rides again.'Llewellyn could also run his easy Exeter winner Quartano in the Listed EBF 'High Sheriff Of Gloucestershire's Millennium Event' Junior Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race on the same card.He added: 'Quartano is likely to take his chance. He was impressive at Exeter and he seems to have come on for the run. We'd be hopeful that he can continue to progress.'He was definitely one of the most impressive bumper winners we have had so far, although we're not sure what he beat. Some of the vibes that day were that it wasn't a great race, so you're never sure how good the form is.'Saying that, he couldn't have done any more than win the way he did. He shows plenty of speed, but I'm sure he'll stay further, and he's a real chaser in the making.'There will be plenty of nice horses in opposition at Cheltenham, so you couldn't be confident, but we're happy with him at home, and I will be on board again. Whether or not he goes over hurdles this season hasn't been decided yet, although he has schooled already, and jumps well, which is encouraging.'Ground conditions at Cheltenham are currently good to soft, soft in places, with the forecast for generally dry weather up to New Year's Day.(C) PA Sport
