NEWS ROUND-UP:MAJESTIC CONCORDE secured a major steeplechase pot over Christmas in the Paddy Power Chase but Dermot Weld has ruled out a follow-up attempt in next week's Red Mills Thyestes Chase.
The hugely-versatile gelding is currently at the top end of some ante-post lists for Gowran Park’s historic prize after springing that 33 to 1 shock at Leopardstown.
“He is in fine form but he had a hard race at Leopardstown and he won’t run in the Thyestes,” Weld explained yesterday.
Majestic Concorde was an 8 to 1 shot in some bookmaker’s calculations yesterday with only the Willie Mullins trained Pomme Tiepy rated shorter at 5 to 1 favourite.
In other ante-post news yesterday, Pandorama was installed an 11 to 8 favourite by Paddy Power to complete a Grade One double in next month’s Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown.
Last month’s Lexus winner is currently rated Ireland’s principal hope for Gold Cup glory at Cheltenham but his trainer, Noel Meade, is targeting the Hennessy as a logical prep’ race for the blue riband.
Meade said yesterday: “Pandorama will hopefully head to Cheltenham providing he is fit and well, although we wouldn’t run him on good going. Good to soft ground would be okay and we would love to run him in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
“He has come out of his victory in the Lexus Chase in very good form and we have always thought that he was capable of winning a big race like that. He would obviously have to improve again to have a chance at Cheltenham but he is still a young chaser.
“In the Hennessy at Newbury, he stood back at the first ditch and landed right in front of the fence. Two horses fell in front of him two fences later – the fright early on added to the two horses falling completely unnerved him and there was no point continuing.
“He has generally been a good jumper and we hoped that he would learn from that experience and won’t do it again. So he has really only had four runs over fences and you would be hopeful there is more to come from him.”
The Grade One winner Shinrock Paddy finished behind Mourad at Leopardstown over Christmas but will attempt to get back to winning form in Saturday’s Limestone lad Hurdle at Naas.
“The intention is to run on Saturday. He was still on the premises turning in last time, I just thought he would have finished out his race a little bit better,” trainer Paul Nolan said yesterday. “Maybe we can have a little bit of doubt over the three miles about him but I was a bit disappointed.”
Waterford trainer Henry De Bromhead is examining his options for getting stable star Sizing Europe to Cheltenham but the leading novice Loosen My Load is set to have a new festival option all to himself.
De Bromhead indicated yesterday that the new Grade Two two and a half mile Jewson Novice Chase is a festival option for Loosen My Load who ran fourth to Realt Dubh in a Leopardstown Grade One a fortnight ago. “There’s not a bother on him and he’s in great form,” he said.
