Dreaper maps out Pere plans
The improving seven-year-old got the better of a good battle for top honours in the Knight Frank Ganly Walters Novice Chase at Leopardstown last week to leave connections considering a Festival appearance.
“He seems fine after his race and we were very pleased because he’d almost certainly be more effective when it’s heavier,” said Dreaper.
“He’s not the quickest horse in the world but he does jump well and he stays very well too. We were a bit worried he’d be done for pace, so it was a great result.
“We’ll obviously enter him in the SunAlliance at Cheltenham and I’d imagine he’d have perhaps two more runs before going there.
“I think there is a three-mile race at Naas on January 19 and then perhaps we’d go to Leopardstown on February 10 (Dr P.J. Moriarty Novices’ Chase).
“That one is only over two miles and five furlongs, but if it was heavy he could go well.”
Notre Pere is as low as 16-1 with Coral for the SunAlliance at Cheltenham, but Dreaper is keen not to get too carried away about his prospects at this stage.
“You need a horse that can do the business on the day and that race can often be one of attrition, but you do need a bit of pace to be absolutely top-class,” he added.
Meanwhile State Of Play could be set for a switch back to hurdles after his fifth-place finish in the Lexus Chase.
The eight-year-old finished more than 17 lengths behind Denman in the Leopardstown Grade One following a fair second in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.
Those two reverses have prompted trainer Evan Williams to lower his sights with the 2006 Hennessy winner.
“We know now he’s not up to Grade One standard,” he said. “I always said I thought the Charlie Hall would be his Gold Cup this year and he just got beat under a penalty by Ollie Magern.
“We don’t really have a plan for him now but we could look at the good handicaps for him or even some of the staying hurdles.
“He’s rated 110 over hurdles and he might be the type for something like the Pertemps or Coral Cup if we could get that mark up. He is a Hennessy winner and like a lot of the others he is a very, very good handicapper or Grade Two horse – but not quite good enough at the highest level.
“He was late back from Ireland due to the bad weather but we’ll give him a little break now then look at the handicap and hurdles options.”
