View from the trainers ahead of JNwine Chase Neil Mulholland believes Midnight Chase is fit enough to make his presence felt in the Grade 1 JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday. The nine-year-old enjoyed an excellent campaign last season, winning three fiercely competitive Cheltenham handicaps before signing off with a fine fifth behind Long Run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Given he is now rated in the 160s, Midnight Chase is going to be campaigned exclusively in conditions events this season and Mulholland is pleased with his star performer's condition ahead of his seasonal reappearance. "He travelled over to Down Royal very well. He arrived at the track this morning and I'm very pleased with him," said Mulholland. "He seems in good form. Ideally we'd like good ground but so would the majority of them. He has won on soft ground before and we know he stays well as he's won over three miles three (furlongs) at Cheltenham. "He's that bit older now, so hopefully he'll cope with more testing conditions better and we'll see how we get on. "He's going to improve for the run, but did win first time out last season and he is as straight as I can get him. "He's had two good schooling sessions in the last two weeks, so I'm as happy as I can be going there. "There are no easy Grade Ones, but we had the option of running here, the Charlie Hall or the Betfair Chase at Haydock and this might be the easiest of the three." Heading the betting is Colm Murphy's Quito De La Roque, winner of top-class novice events at Aintree and Punchestown in the spring. Murphy admits he is going to have to improve if he is going to make up into a realistic Gold Cup contender and has warned a setback a few weeks ago has hindered his preparation for this race. "It's a pure quality race through and through and we're just hoping for a nice run," Murphy told At The Races. "It's a great track and a nice place to start him back. He's developing physically and is getting a lot stronger than he was last year, so hopefully he can keep improving as the year goes on. "He has potential but we're under no illusions that on ratings, he has a good bit to find. He seems to be going the right way. "We had a bit of a hiccup about four weeks ago as he knocked a joint and haemorrhaged a vein and it held us up for nearly a fortnight. "It's a big hiccup we could have done without coming here, but he's as ready as could have him for his first run. "It took a while before it healed, but it probably sounds worse than it was. "A lot of them are probably going to strip fitter than we are but if we can get a nice run and improve, that would be great." Champion Chase hero Sizing Europe has been tried over a variety of distances and ran a fine race to chase home Kauto Star in this contest 12 months ago. He was a fortuitous winner on his seasonal reappearance at Gowran Park and trainer Henry de Bromhead is looking forward to seeing how he gets on. "He seems very well and hopefully he'll run a good race," he said. "Conditions aren't ideal but they should be fine and we're looking forward to it. "He ran well in the race last year and we'll have to see how good last year's novices are stepping up." Sizing Europe could drop back to the minimum distance for the Tingle Creek at Sandown this month, but his trainer is not making any definite plans. "Sandown is a possible but we'll see how we get on this weekend first. We're just taking one race at a time," De Bromhead added. Jessica Harrington's Bostons Angel won three successive Grade One novice prizes last season, with the hat-trick completed in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham. "He's done very well and I'm very happy with him," said the trainer. "He did us proud last season and this is the next step up. "He's ready to make his seasonal reappearance and he's in good form, but if you look back through his form for the last couple of years, he always takes a run to hit top gear. "We'll see how he gets on before we make any plans. It all depends on how he runs on Saturday."
