Sunday, 9 January 2011

Loosen My Load aimed at new Festival race

Loosen My Load is being aimed at the inaugural running of the Jewson Novices' Chase, for which he is best-price 10/1 (Bet365 and Victor Chandler).

Henry de Bromhead's seven-year-old was last seen finishing fourth over an inadequate two miles and one furlong in the Bord na Mona Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas and the handler believes the two-and-a-half-mile trip of the new Grade Two Jewson-sponsored race will be right up his street.

De Bromhead said: "I was over the moon with him (at Leopardstown) considering the trip and the ground. He would have hated the ground yet he still ran a cracker and I was delighted with him."

He added: "I think the ideal race for him is going to be the new Jewson, the Grade Two at Cheltenham. Two and a half miles will be ideal for him and I think we'll go straight there now. That's what I'm thinking and the ground should be right for him.

"He's had plenty of experience so he'll have a break now."

Another horse who will head straight for the Festival without a prep race is Menorah, who is one of the leading fancies for the stanjames.com Champion Hurdle following victories in the Greatwood Hurdle and International at Cheltenham this season.

Trainer Phillip Hobbs said: "He's really good and I couldn't be more pleased with him. We were going to give him a couple of weeks walking but after two or three days he was so fresh we had to start cantering again.

"He's in very good nick and as from next week we'll start to pick things up again with the Champion Hurdle in mind and he won't run beforehand."

Menorah is currently best-price 9/2 (Bet365) for the Champion Hurdle, or can be backed at 4/1 with race-sponsors Stan James who are currently offering four places instead of three for each-way backers.

Meanwhile, Noel Meade has reiterated that Pandorama's Cheltenham Gold Cup bid depends on the ground being softer than good at Prestbury Park.

The eight-year-old is Ireland's leading hope for the blue riband event, for which the gelding is currently best-price 16/1 (888sport), but his challenge is very much ground dependant.

Meade said: "I think what you call good to soft at Cheltenham, good to yielding ground might be alright. It would be the very least that I'd think about running him on - he wouldn't run on good ground. Obviously we'd love to run him in the Gold Cup but he'd have to be well enough and continue his progress."

That progress may continue at Leopardstown, with Meade pencilling in the Irish Hennessy as the next assignment for the nine-time winner following his Lexus Chase victory:

"He's in good shape. He came out of the race really well and he'll head straight for the Hennessy at Leopardstown again. We'll see what happens after that".

Loosen My Load is set to run in the 2011 Jewson Novices' Chase

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