Nicholls unsure what to expect from Kauto Stone

PAUL Nicholls admits he is unsure what to expect from Kauto Stone as he drops to the minimum distance for the Sportingbet Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown today.

The five-year-old bids to emulate his half-brother Kauto Star, who won the two-mile race twice in his younger days before going on to win two Cheltenham Gold Cups and four King George VI Chases.

Like his sibling, Kauto Stone arrived from France with a big reputation and made an excellent start for his new connections when winning over two and a half miles at Down Royal a month ago.

He was a surprise entry in the Tingle Creek earlier this week but with rain softening up the ground and stablemate Tataniano a non-runner after suffering an injury, connections of Kauto Stone have decided to take their chance.

Nicholls said: “The jockeys are telling me it’s soft ground and that should be fine for him.

“However, I don’t know him very well so we will just have to see how he gets on over two miles.”

Tataniano had looked the champion trainer’s first string until he was found to have suffered a leg injury that looks set to rule him out for the entire campaign.

Arkle and Champion Chase winner Sizing Europe returns to two miles after tiring late on in the three-mile JNWine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal.

His trainer Henry de Bromhead is hoping for a decent surface at Sandown to allow his star performer show his true colours.

“He had a fairly tough race at Down Royal when running a blinder last time out, but his weight is good and he seems in good form at home so we’re happy to let him take his chance,” said De Bromhead.

“As we’ve always maintained, he’s a much better horse on better ground so we’ll be hoping the rain stays away between now and Saturday.

“The Tingle Creek is always such a fantastic spectacle and we’re all very much looking forward to it.”

The potential dark horse in the race is the Philip Hobbs-trained Wishfull Thinking.

Impressive performances at Aintree and Punchestown over middle distances in the spring suggested the eight-year-old could go right to the top this term. “It’s a good race, he’s in good order, so we’ll see how he gets on,” said Hobbs.