Finian’s Rainbow seeking Kempton gold

Nicky Henderson is confident Finian’s Rainbow is ready to show what he is made of in the williamhill.com Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton tomorrow.

With Master Minded having stepped up in distance, the two-mile chasing division is currently dominated by Irish stars Sizing Europe and Big Zeb.

Finian’s Rainbow, a Grade One winner as a novice last season, is currently third in the betting behind the aforementioned duo for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham in March and he puts his credentials on the line on Tuesday.

The eight-year-old has not been sighted so far this campaign having missed an intended engagement in the Tingle Creek and Henderson is looking forward to getting him back on track.

“He just had a bit of a lull earlier on in the year and was a bit quiet, but he’s really bounced back to himself now,” said Henderson.

“He’s in terrific form. Barry (Geraghty) came over to school him and Sprinter Sacre and Bobs Worth on Friday and he was happy with all of them.

“It’s a big two days for the yard.”

Wishfull Thinking looked destined for the top following wins at Aintree and Punchestown in the spring, but his first couple of starts this season have been disappointing.

Having been sent off favourite for the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham, he set a scorching gallop before weakening into sixth.

He similarly went fast from the front when coming back to two miles in the Tingle Creek last time and having once again dropped out quickly, trainer Philip Hobbs is planning to change tactics.

He said: “It’s a bit of an experiment really.

“We’re going to ride him a bit differently tomorrow. We’re still running over two miles and hopefully we’ll learn a bit more.

“We’re still running over two miles, but we’ll hold him up a bit more and see what happens.”

A six-runner field is completed by Oiseau De Nuit, Takeroc, Kinkeel and Oumeyade.