TRUCKERS TAVERN heads a four-strong Sue Smith team who are amongst 30 entries for the skybet.com Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase at Wetherby on Boxing Day.

Truckers Tavern heads a four-strong Sue Smith team who are amongst 30 entries for the skybet.com Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase at Wetherby on Boxing Day.

Philip Hobbs has supplemented Farmer Jack for next Friday’s totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup at a cost of £17,500 (€25,000).

Your a Gassman, brought down in the Feltham Novices Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day, has come out of that reverse unscathed and is expected to return to action at the end of next month.

NOEL CHANCE is hoping Murphy’s Cardinal can regain the winning thread in the skybet.com Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby on St Stephen’s Day.

Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Sir Rembrandt will face six rivals in tomorrow’s Tommy Whittle Chase as he continues his build-up to another crack at chasing’s blue riband event next March.

LAST YEAR’S winner Keen Leader heads the 13 entries for the £60,000 Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock Park this weekend.

Smart chaser Truckers Tavern will be out to take advantage of a lenient handicap mark over hurdles when he appears at Ayr on Sunday.

Best Mate is a top-priced 9-4 with Coral to land a fourth tote sport Cheltenham Gold Cup after emulating the mighty Arkle with a third victory in the great race yesterday.

Reigning champions Best Mate, Rooster Booster, Moscow Flyer and Baracouda were declared to go forward to defend their Cheltenham Festival titles following yesterday’s forfeit stage for the nine championship races.

OWNER David Johnson yesterday refused to rule out a tilt at the Tote Cheltenham Gold with his promising novice Therealbandit.

TED WALSH is planning a double assault on the Martell Cognac Grand National at Aintree on April 3.

TONY DOBBIN is the new partner for Truckers Tavern in both this weekend’s Pillar Property Chase and the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

Davy Russell has lost his job as number one rider to trainer Ferdy Murphy.

FRENCH raider Jair Du Cochet heads a cast of 11 who have been entered for Saturday’s Grade Two Pillar Property Chase at Cheltenham.

Beef Or Salmon has recovered from a slight setback and is on course for the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup.

BEST MATE remains odds-on across the board to win an historic third Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup following the publication of the entries yesterday.

Best Mate heads the 32 entries revealed today for the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup, which takes place on March 18.

Truckers Tavern was this morning reported none the worse for his fall in an incident-packed Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby yesterday.

Truckers Tavern and Hussard Collonges, two of the north’s leading Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup hopes, are set to meet in the skybet.com Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase at Wetherby tomorrow.

Ferdy Murphy's Truckers Tavern is set to tackle the Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase at Wetherby a week tomorrow in preference to the Pertemps King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day.

Bookmakers have slashed the price of Truckers Tavern for the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup after a deluge of ante-post bets.

BOOKMAKERS have slashed the price of Truckers Tavern for the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup after a deluge of ante-post bets yesterday.

DEMOPHILOS, runner-up in the 2001 St Leger, is unlikely to make his hurdling debut at Fairyhouse this weekend, said trainer Dessie Hughes yesterday.

Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Truckers Tavern will make his seasonal reappearance over timber at Haydock on Saturday.

Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Truckers Tavern will make his seasonal reappearance over timber at Haydock on Saturday.

NICKY HENDERSON is considering his options for Fondmort after entering the impressive Paddy Power Gold Cup winner in the Pertemps King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day.

CYFOR MALTA is a best-priced 12-1 with the sponsors and Cashmans for the Paddy Power Gold Cup on Saturday in his bid to land the Cheltenham showpiece for a third time.

IT is no great exaggeration to say that this weekend sees the real start of the National Hunt campaign.

Ferdy Murphy is still hoping for a drop of rain ahead of Truckers Tavern’s intended reappearance in the James Nicholson Wine Merchant Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday.

Ferdy Murphy is planning to walk the course at Down Royal on Monday in the hope of giving Truckers Tavern the go ahead to tackle the following weekend’s James Nicholson Wine Merchants Champion Chase.

Best Mate has been officially crowned top chaser for the first time in the Anglo-Irish National Hunt Classifications – but the handicappers do not regard him as an exceptional champion.

BEST MATE simply lives on a different planet to any other chaser in the universe. That can be the only conclusion, following the total crushing of his rivals in yesterday’s Tote Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

Hussard Collonges has been a "nearly" horse this season but that could all change in the big one a week on Thursday.

Punters can look forward to a bumper day tomorrow with top-class racing at three jumps tracks, but the bet of the day is Truckers Tavern in the Bet Direct Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock.

FERDY MURPHY has confirmed Truckers Tavern is a definite runner in the £100,000 Tote Classic Chase at Warwick on Saturday.

Truckers Tavern is set to run in the Silver Cup at Ascot following a defeat on his reappearance at Kelso on Monday.

GODOLPHIN’S Hong Kong Cup contender Grandera pleased connections as he worked with stablemate Atlantis Prince at Sha Tin yesterday.

Andrew Parker gained the biggest success of his three-year training career when Hugo De Grez put up a game staying performance under Brian Storey to win the £20,000 (€31,300) Tote Placepot Champion Chase at Kelso.

Ferdy Murphy has decided to run both Truckers Tavern and Streamstown in the two and a half mile ladbrokes.com Handicap Chase at Newbury on Saturday.

Ferdy Murphy is planning to give Cheltenham hopeful Truckers Tavern a run in the Weatherbys Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown on Saturday.