Mann considers Kelso raid for Wendel

Charlie Mann may skip the Cheltenham Festival with his exciting novice Wendel and instead go for the totepool Premier Kelso Novices’ Hurdle on February 28.

The five-year-old has won three of his four starts over timber, with his only defeat coming behind Medermit at Ascot in December.

He bounced back to winning ways last weekend when easily accounting for the highly-regarded Chariot Charger.

“The race cut up well. He’s a decent horse, he probably shouldn’t have been running over two miles on goodish ground the time before. That was a very hard race and it was probably one of the best novice races run this season,” said Mann.

“He needs two and a half now. If he got cut in the ground he’d go to Cheltenham, but he does need cut.

“There is a race at Kelso next Saturday that is worth £35,000 that he might go for as I don’t want to wait for Cheltenham and then the ground won’t be soft enough so he may go to Kelso.

“It wouldn’t be the end of the world if he didn’t go to Cheltenham as there is always Aintree and the three-mile novice hurdle there, we won’t kill him this year, he’ll only have two more runs.”