Tazbar set for Cheltenham test

A good performance from Tazbar at Cheltenham on Saturday could set him up for a crack at the Feltham Novices’ Chase on St Stephen's Day.

Trainer Keith Reveley is praying for a dry spell for his 158-rated hurdler, who effortlessly won his first start over fences and may line up in the Ryman The Stationer Novices’ Chase.

“I am hoping to send Tazbar to Cheltenham and I am just hoping there is not too much rain there before the weekend,” said Reveley.

“I want to get another run into him before the Feltham Novices’ Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day and there are not too many alternatives.

“They will be racing on fresh ground, which will help, and I am really keen to see how he gets on at Cheltenham. If we want to go for the championship races, then he needs the experience there against some stiff opposition.

“He jumps very well and we school him a lot at home – since James (Reveley) has come back from France, he insists that we do plenty of schooling at home, so our regime is slightly different nowadays than it might have been in the past.

“We have won the Feltham Novices’ Chase with Ungaro in 2006 and I would like to have another crack at it. It looks like it is going to be a decent year for novice chasers but you have to take them on and find your own level.

“We obviously have the RSA Chase at the back of our minds and what we would really like is a dry spring for the Festival because he is a genuine good ground horse.

“It’s a long way off at the moment, but he is certainly a nice prospect over fences.”