Rathgar back at the weekend

Rathgar Beau will make his eagerly-awaited comeback in the National Lottery Agent Champion Chase at Gowran Park on Saturday.

Eamonn Sheehy’s charge cemented his place in the history books last year when he became the first horse to get the better of Moscow Flyer in a completed chase.

But having made a promising start to last season, the 10-year-old’s campaign was cut short by a tendon injury.

He is now back in flying form, however, and ready to tackle this weekend’s two-and-a-half-mile Grade Two test.

“He definitely runs at the weekend,” confirmed Sheehy.

“His recovery went fairly well and he’s 100 per cent. He’s worked at the racecourse and schooled over fences so everything’s on target.

“He banged his tendon when he caught his leg behind and we’re not sure if one hit the other or quite what happened but he’s 100 per cent now.”

While the County Kilkenny handler is confident his inmate has made a full recovery, he is also keen to take this season one step at a time and has yet to come up with a definitive schedule.

“I don’t really have a plan mapped out for the rest of the year yet – this is the plan for the time being and we’ll take it from there,” he added.