Smith Triple-Handed In Sky Bet Chase

Sue Smith is keen to keep the £60,000 Sky Bet Chase (3.25pm), Doncaster´s richest jump race of the year which is run tomorrow, in Yorkshire, having declared three of the 13 participants in the form of The Kew Tour, Artic Jack and Little Big Horse.

The Bingley-based trainer today issued an upbeat bulletin. 'I´m very pleased with all three horses that are going to Doncaster,' she said. 'Actually all of them will be a little bit more suited by the bit better ground - as long as it´s not firm basically which I can´t see it being and it should be safe ground tomorrow. All horses should be happy enough on the ground.'

The Kew Tour, 9/1 with Sky Bet, was last seen in action when beaten just over four lengths in fourth behind Ulusaba in a handicap chase at Newbury last month, while Artic Jack, a 20/1 chance, last year´s hero in the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock, unseated Dominic Elsworth on his last start in a similar event at Cheltenham on New Year´s Day over an extended three miles and two furlongs.

'The Kew Tour has come out of Newbury very good - he seems to be in very good form going to Doncaster tomorrow,' reported the handler. 'Artic Jack only unseated at Cheltenham - we basically haven´t been able to find another race quite to suit him and I think we were abandoned as well a couple of times.

'That´s why he´s at Doncaster tomorrow. It´s a good, flat galloping track and he runs very well around Haydock which is also a galloping track. Artic Jack is a good jumper so I´m hoping that he´ll run a big race. The three miles shouldn´t bother him - he´s won over that trip at Haydock and he´s in good form.'

Little Big Horse, at 14/1 with Sky Bet, was second in a handicap hurdle at Sedgefield on his last start on the last day of 2004, having been beaten just over six lengths by Sound Of Cheers in a handicap chase at Newcastle 13 days´ earlier.

Smith continued: 'Little Big Horse had two runs last month - he ran at Newcastle and ran very well and that was over two and a half miles when he was just touched off in fourth

'I was very pleased with him there and then because we didn´t have anything else in between, we went back over hurdles. He seems to be in very good form with himself.'

Asked if she had a preference for any of her trio, the trainer replied: 'I don´t have a hunch for any one of the three more than the other really. I suppose Little Big Horse would be stepping up in class a bit, Artic Jack is well capable and so is The Kew Tour but I couldn´t say any one of the three is going to win but I can´t say that any one of them couldn´t either.'

Other Sky Bet Chase participants include last year´s Mildmay Of Flete Handicap Chase winner Tikram, who has yet to get his head in front this season although he ran creditably on his last start when dropping back in trip to two miles at Sandown earlier this month, top-weight Horus, trained by Martin Pipe, and the well-backed favourite Your A Gassman, who is currently a 2/1 chance with the sponsor.

Clerk of the Course Jon Pullin today commented: 'We have experienced some rain today, which was not forecast and the going has now been changed to good.'

The two main supporting races at Town Moor tomorrow are the £30,000-added skybetvegas.com Mares´ Only Handicap Hurdle (2.50pm), over an extended two miles, and the £30,000 Brit Insurance River Don Novices´ Hurdle (3.25pm), over an extended three miles, which will have 10 and five runners respectively.

Henry Daly´s Knock Down makes her second British start in the former contest. She was runner-up to Blue Canyon, winner of a Grade 2 hurdle at Haydock last Saturday, in a Listed hurdle at Enghien in France on her penultimate outing. She faces Debbie, trained by Barry Leavy, an easy winner at Catterick on her last outing and Martin Pipe´s Bongo Fury, successful last time in a similar event at Sandown on January 8.

The Brit Insurance River Don Novices´ Hurdle features Romany Prince, trained by Steve Gollings, a Group performer on the Flat who has yet to jump timber in public, and Howard Johnson´s Bewleys Berry, a five-length runner-up to Villon most recently having previously won a novices´ hurdle at Hexham by six lengths.

Sky Bet sponsors six of Doncaster´s seven events on Saturday and the programme is completed by the opening £10,000-added 08000 722 421 Freephone Betting From Sky Bet Handicap Hurdle (1.10pm), which sees 14 horses go to post, the £17,000-added skybet.com HBLB Novices´ Chase (1.45pm) with seven runners, the £20,000-added Skybet Press Red To Bet Mansion House Handicap Chase (2.20pm), which has attracted the same number of chasers, and the concluding £3,000-added 'Sky Vegas Live' On Sky Channel 295 Maiden Open NHF Race (4.25pm), which has drawn a maximum field of 18 with nine others having to be balloted out for safety reasons.