Native Upmanship's change of focus from the Gold Cup to a possible attempt at the Queen Mother Champion Chase will begin in earnest at Thurles in 12 days time. Arthur Moore has lined up the Kinloch Brae Chase as the gelding's next start but insisted that any attempt at the two-mile crown will depend on there being soft ground at Cheltenham.
"I don't think he is quite sharp enough for that race on good ground. There is not much else at Cheltenham for him so if the ground was good, we will wait for Liverpool," Moore said.
"We're planning to go for the Kinloch Brae, and there is a two-mile chase at Naas after that. Then we will wait and see what happens," Moore added.
The Newlands Chase at Naas next month is scheduled to be the Cheltenham warm up for the other main Irish Champion Chase hope, Knife Edge. Trainer Michael O'Brien said: "He has done everything we've asked him to do over fences and I want to give him just one more run. Whether he will be good enough to beat the very best we will have to wait and see.
"He has got plenty of pace and I can see him having no problems lying up with them at Cheltenham. Certainly he has got a turn of foot for the finish too."
Last year's Irish National victor Davids Lad takes on the 2000 Aintree hero Papillon, as well as two-mile specialist Alcapone, in tomorrow's Normans Grove Chase ar Fairyhouse.
Papillon remains ante-post favourite to continue his special link with Liverpool while Davids Lad is having his first start since October. Both are famously versatile and their chances cannot be discounted, even over the minimum trip.
The O'Brien camp could provide the best bet of the day in Shawings, a daughter of the Triumph Hurdle winner Shawiya, who ran a good third to the Cheltenham hope Kicking King at Leopardstown last weekend. It will take a smart newcomer to beat her in the bumper.
Paul Carberry returns to action this weekend with a couple of rides at Punchestown today and four more at Fairyhouse.
Native View (3.15) and Woodys Sea Breeze (4.15) are set to ease the rider back into the groove where the feature is the Grade Three Juvenile Hurdle. Mouse Morris runs Hyderabad against some of the best of the rest of Ireland's Triumph Hurdle hopes and the Thurles winner can add to the trainer's Cheltenham challenge. Morris already has the well fancied 20 to 1 Gold Cup hope Foxchapel King although the trainer did report yesterday that the Ericsson winner is only "50-50" to run in the Hennessy next month. "I've got worries about the ground and whether two races might come a bit quick for him. Certainly he will not run at Leopardstown if it is soft or heavy as there would be no point.
"But the Gold Cup is definitely on the cards. He is about the only one in the betting that hasn't blotted his copybook this season. Cheltenham is what we're dreaming of and he has won around there so it won't be a problem if it is good ground," Morris said.
The Edward O'Grady-trained Sheltering ran an admirable third to Davids Lad and Rathbawn Prince in the Irish National and is hard to oppose in the hunters' chase.
