Push makes Cheltenham bow
The 10-year-old gave champion jockey Tony McCoy an emotional first success in the world’s most famous steeplechase back in April.
Frank Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus, is looking forward to getting his season under way at Prestbury Park.
“It’s nice to get him back out and Jonjo is very happy with him,” said Berry.
“With the way the weather has been, it’s just nice to be able to get a run into him and this is a nice little race to get him going again.
“He’s in good form and we’ll just see how he gets on tomorrow before we make any plans.
“We’ve no major targets until Aintree and we’ll just take each race as it comes.
“It’s his first run back after having a hard race at Aintree, so he’ll come on for the run.”
Don’t Push It is one of 17 runners in the competitive three-mile contest.
Alan Berry will be the man in the saddle, with McCoy opting to ride stable companion Synchronised.
Meanwhile Master Minded features among 10 declared runners in the Keith Prowse Hospitality Tingle Creek Chase at Cheltenham tomorrow.
The Grade One contest was rescheduled to be run at Prestbury Park following the abandonment of Sandown’s fixture last weekend and a strong line-up remains.
Kalahari King was not in the original field but the switch to Cheltenham has prompted Ferdy Murphy to declare his star turn.
Nick Williams will saddle Gauvain, a shock winner at the track last month, while the David Pipe-trained I’m So Lucky is set for his first start since landing Sandown’s Celebration Chase in April.
Kinkeel, Mahogany Blaze, Oiseau De Nuit, Petit Robin and Somersby are all set to take their chance, while plans for Master Minded’s stable companion Twist Magic remain up in the air.
The eight-year-old, a winner of this in 2007 and 2009, has been declared for a hat-trick bid, but his preferred option is the totesport.com Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon on Sunday.
His part-owner, Barry Fulton, said: “The BHA have given us permission to declare him for Cheltenham, but we’ll go to Huntingdon as long as it looks like being on by Saturday morning.
“It’s one of those unprecedented cases really, so we can declare for both and decide later on.
“We just thought if we ran at Huntingdon, Noel Fehily would be able to ride him and hopefully, with Ruby (Walsh) likely to be back to ride Master Minded in the Champion Chase, we could have Noel for that race.
“It will be his first try at two and a half miles on Sunday but it’s a flat course and it will be interesting.
“They have also decreased the value of the Tingle Creek from £150,000 to £60,000, which means the Peterborough is actually worth more now.
“We also avoid Master Minded, so it makes sense to go to Huntingdon.
“But if they call Huntingdon off on Saturday morning or they say it’s looking doubtful, we’ll let him take his chance at Cheltenham.”
The only Tingle Creek withdrawal from the five-day stage was Poquelin, who instead carries top-weight in the Vote AP Gold Cup on the same card.
* Officials at Cheltenham have called a 10.30am inspection of the cross country course ahead of today’s race.
The Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase is due to be the fourth race on the opening day of the International meeting, but parts of the track are frozen.
“There is hope,” said clerk of the course Simon Claisse.
“We will check again in the morning but there is the prospect of milder conditions arriving in the next 24 hours.”
