Shu to aim at same big targets Big Shu is likely to return to action in January as trainer Peter Maher looks to follow a similar route to last season. The eight-year-old won the cross-country chases at the Cheltenham and Punchestown festivals in the spring, and Maher intends to have him cherry-ripe for those big meetings again. Big Shu began the last campaign in a point-to-point in January and then finished second in a cross-country event at Punchestown, before taking the Glenfarclas Handicap Chase and the La Touche Cup. As he cannot go for a point-to-point because of his Cheltenham success, he could start off in a hurdle race this winter. "He's in good form, but won't come out until January. That's what we did last year and it worked well," said County Kildare-based Maher. "He started off in a point-to-point last year, but he can't now because he won in Cheltenham. "He'll probably go for a hurdle and then back for a cross-country race at Punchestown again. It will be a similar route, I'd say. "It depends on the ground whether he goes to Cheltenham again. He can go on heavy and he can go on good. I wouldn't want it quick for him. "More than likely it will be the same plan again."
