Suitable ground could see Master in the mix for Champion
Paul Nicholls’ chaser failed in his bid to emulate Badsworth Boy in winning three successive Queen Mother Champion Chases when he could finish only fourth to the Colm Murphy-trained Big Zeb at Cheltenham last month.
Master Minded won the Punchestown race last season in a thrilling finish from Murphy’s nine-year-old and the pair could be set for another great battle.
Master Minded’s owner Clive Smith said this evening: “He had sore knees after Cheltenham, but he’s been treated for the problem and if it’s soft ground we might think about it. We want softish ground for him.
“He’s not had many runs this year, so we might just have a go if the ground is right.”
To add further spice to the mix, the second and third home at Cheltenham, Forpadydeplasterer and Kalahari King, also hold entries.
Henry de Bromhead has also entered his English and Irish Arkle winners Sizing Europe and An Cathaoir Mor.
Twist Magic is another Nicholls inmate who disappointed at Cheltenham and his owner Barry Fulton is perplexed as to why he ran so poorly having shown such good form earlier in the season.
“We wanted to have the option of going to Punchestown again with Twist Magic although a lot will obviously depend on the ground – he won’t go if it is too soft,” said Fulton.
“I don’t really know what happened at Cheltenham but I am still not convinced that he acted on the course.
“He was absolutely fine before the Queen Mother Champion Chase but Robert Thornton said that he felt that he wasn’t travelling well early on.
“He just didn’t perform on the day and it was even more disappointing because he had previously beaten Kalahari King the season before, as well as Big Zeb and Forpadydeplasterer in the Tingle Creek Chase.
“In previous years he hasn’t looked his best going into Cheltenham, but he seemed to us to be a different horse this year.
“We went there with great expectations and hopes, but unfortunately they were all shattered.
“However, he is only eight and we still have plenty to look forward to with him.
“We had a fantastic day when he won at Punchestown in 2008 and the course seemed to suit him quite well.
“We have a couple of options open for him at the moment and we will look at the probable field before making any final decision.”
