Hurdling option for Captain
The nine-year-old was sent off favourite for the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham last month but after trailing home eighth of the 12 runners, he was found to have burst a blood vessel.
Harty has given his charge time to recover from that mishap and he now has the Ryanair Novice Chase or the Rabobank Champion Hurdle as potential targets.
“The plan at the moment is to go to Punchestown,” said Harty.
“He has had a break since Cheltenham to get over the burst blood vessel and we will make our minds up over the course of the next few weeks whether he is ready for it and, if so, which race will it be if we do go.
“We have given him a tentative entry into the Rabobank Champion Hurdle to give ourselves more options.
“It will be his last run of the year so there is no point in limiting ourselves to just one option. We may as well keep the options open to the last minute.
“I would not be afraid to go for either race, it just depends on what the horse is telling us. Hopefully he will be fit and well and we can decide nearer to the day.”
Other possibles in the Ryanair Novice Chase include Arkle winner Sizing Europe and the Nicky Henderson-trained trio of Riverside Theatre, Mad Max and French Opera.
While Harty is keeping his options open, one horse who is almost certain to line up in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle is Solwhit.
The Charles Byrnes inmate failed to cut much ice in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham but his trainer is hopeful he will bounce back on a track where he is three wins from three starts.
“We have given Solwhit an entry in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle and I am hopeful that he will run,” said Byrnes.
“He has won two Grade One races at Punchestown, including this race last year, so he will hopefully go there if the ground comes up soft.
“You would have to say that his run at Cheltenham was disappointing but I think that it was down to a number of things.
“The track didn’t seem to suit him and the ground didn’t really play to his strengths – I had reservations about both before he ran.
“He needs softer ground and he just didn’t quicken when the rest of the field did at the top of the hill.
“He was also on a course on antibiotics a week beforehand, which didn’t help his cause, but he didn’t show any kind of sickness afterwards and looks in good order at moment.”
There are a total of 19 entries for the Rabobank Champion Hurdle with talented novice Dunguib and long-term absentee Hurricane Fly among the contenders.
Hurricane Fly has been off the track since November due to injury but trainer Willie Mullins has been thrilled with his recent progress.
“Hurricane Fly completed his first two bits of faster work this week and came through them absolutely fine,” Mullins said in his weekly blog on www.goracing.ie.
“I’ve been very pleased with him and he doesn’t seem to be in any way stiff or sore, so I’d hope to be able to kick on with him and do a bit more again next week.”
