Hourigan: Beef will still be a force to be reckoned with in top staying chases

MICHAEL HOURIGAN insists Beef Or Salmon will still be a force to be reckoned with in the top staying chases this season, despite the disappointments of last year.

Hourigan’s 10-year-old gained the eighth Grade One success of his career when he won the Irish Hennessy at Leopardstown in February, but another below-par performance in the Cheltenham Gold Cup was followed with an early exit at Aintree.

The gelding did perform with credit in the inaugural running of the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November, however, and that will again be his first major target of the season.