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/ Paul Nicholls / 27 January 2012 / Leave a Comment 
With Cheltenham looming, Paul has decisions to make
"I have five entries in the Arkle, for which Al Ferof is obviously my number one hope after his excellent third at Ascot last Saturday."
Paul discusses a host of horses that will be in action over the coming weeks and weighs up their chances of being entered at the Cheltenham Festival. Ante-post bettors take note...
Come back here at 8am on Saturday for my thoughts on all my weekend runners - including a possible reason why a high-profile horse disappointed last time.
But for those of you who like to back ante-post, I will run you through my entries in the novice chases at the Festival, and the National Hunt Chase.
I have five entries in the Arkle, for which Al Ferof, Timeform's leading novice chaser at any distance this season, is obviously my number one hope after his excellent third at Ascot last Saturday. He goes straight to the Festival.
Thursday's Warwick winner Pacha Du Polder is a very unlikely runner and wants a trip. He is also entered in the Jewson, but it could be that we give Cheltenham a swerve with him this year.
Sanctuaire probably makes his chasing debut at either Taunton or Ludlow next week. I was toying with running Escort'men in the Lightning at Doncaster on Saturday but decided against it; I refuse to believe this talented hurdler is as bad over fences as he has shown so far, but handicap hurdles are always an option at the Festival. But he will have his next run in a chase, maybe at Wincanton next Thursday.
That leaves Cristal Bonus to complete my Arkle quintet; he was a classy hurdler who holds entries in the Jewson and RSA as well. He delighted me when winning over 2m4f at Chepstow on his chasing debut and goes for the Scilly Isles at Sandown a week on Saturday. His current target is the Jewson, though.
I also have five in the Jewson, though I have already discussed Al Ferof, Cristal Bonus and Pacha Du Polder. Newbury winner Cedre Bleu goes to Exeter in a fortnight. He could give Cheltenham a miss too, but if he ran well at Exeter and the ground came up soft at Cheltenham, who knows? The remaining other possible is Silviniaco Conti.
I have three entries in the RSA and many will think that Silviniaco Conti is my number one hope at this stage after his excellent second to Grands Crus in the Feltham. But hold your bets on this horse.
We will not be taking on the winner again if he goes down the novice route, and it could be that we wait until Aintree. I think a flat track will suit him better than Cheltenham.
But the race is definitely the plan for Join Together. He was very impressive at Cheltenham last time and has three options for his next outing; Newbury on Betfair Super Saturday, the Reynoldstown or maybe Fontwell on National Spirit Day. Star De Mohaison won at Fontwell before winning the RSA. In fact, those three races are possibles for Silviniaco Conti, too.
I have two entries in the four-miler and Sir Alex Ferguson part owns both. Picture This got a leg last season and was only half fit when winning a match at Folkestone first time up; he is better than that.
But if he runs at the Festival, it could be in a handicap. But the National Hunt Chase is something that I have had in mind for Harry The Viking all season, and he showed all the attributes that you need for this marathon test when battling to win a 3m2f handicap at Doncaster last time. He is a true stayer.
There's plenty of racing to look forward to in the coming week, the highlight being Trials day at Cheltenham on Saturday, and Paul is sure to be have numerous runners putting their Festival credentials to the test there......
Paul Nicholls give us his views on Al Ferof's performance yesterday in finishing third and why he's such an exciting prospect with Cheltenham now on everyone's minds....
There's a host of news from Ditcheat where Denman's recovery is taking a little longer than expected but Zarkandar appears to be in fine fettle with a big race on the horizon...
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