RACING NEWS:GORDON ELLIOTT is set to send a team of up to eight horses to Cheltenham next week as the in-form trainer attempts to break his festival duck.

Jessies Dream, who provided the Meath trainer with a first Grade One success in December’s Drinmore at Fairyhouse, leads the Elliott team in the RSA Chase.

Bookmakers rate him the main threat to the hot favourite Time For Rupert in the three-mile-plus event, despite finishing runner-up to Magnaminity in his last start at Leopardstown in January.

The David Johnson-owned star will be having his first start at Cheltenham, but Elliott said yesterday: “He’s a horse that won’t mind the track at all. He’s in very good nick. You need a bit of luck over there but we should have three or four good chances.”

The Ebor winner Dirar will be joined by Grey Soldier in the County Hurdle, while Carlito Brigante will take his chance in the Coral Cup.

Another Gigginstown Stud hope, Tharawaat, will take his chance in the newly-installed Centenary Novice Handicap Chase on day one of the festival, while Beautiful Sound is being aimed at the Kim Muir.

Elliott’s likely team is completed by Plan A in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle, while Chicago Grey faces a stamina test in the four-mile National Hunt Chase. Ladbrokes make Chicago Grey their 6 to 1 favourite for the marathon event.

Despite having tasted major success with Silver Birch’s Aintree Grand National triumph in 2007, and accumulated plentiful tallies of winners in Britain and Ireland since, Elliott has yet to score at the Cheltenham Festival.

In contrast, Nicky Henderson is the most successful festival trainer currently operating, but the threat of injury this close to the festival hit home yesterday when the Lambourn handler reported the Ryanair hope Riverside Theatre to have fractured a pelvis.

“Riverside Theatre was lame after exercise on Friday and, as a result, we found he had suffered a hairline fracture to his pelvis. Although we hoped his problem was muscular, a scan revealed that to be not the case,” Henderson reported yesterday.

“He’s lucky this has been revealed, rather than anything more serious, as the consequences would have been bad. I have spoken to the vets and we are confident he’ll be perfectly fine for next season.

“It’s still an enormous shame as he was having a most promising season. He’s still young though and will hopefully have a huge career,” he added.

Riverside Theatre’s defection resulted in Paddy Power cutting Edward O’Grady’s Tranquil Sea to 5 to 1 second favourite for the Ryanair behind the Paul Nicholls-trained favourite Polquelin.

Other Irish hopes in the Ryanair could be carried by Willie Mullins’ J’y Vole, who finished third to Albertas Run in last year’s renewal. The latter is not certain to defend his title at Cheltenham, with a spokesman for owner Trevor Hemmings reporting: “We haven’t made a decision about Cheltenham yet. We’ll wait and see what the ground will be.

“He’s always done well in the spring. He won the EBF Final at this time of year and obviously the Ryanair and at Liverpool, all his best form always seems to be in the spring.

“It was a great performance at Aintree last year.”

De Bromhead feels fast pace will suit Sizing Europe

HENRY DE BROMHEAD believes a fast pace in next week's Queen Mother Champion Chase could be crucial to Sizing Europe's chances of becoming a back-to-back festival winner, writes BRIAN O'CONNOR.

Last year’s Arkle hero has yet to score this term but is back at two miles now after attempting three miles at Down Royal in November. He finished third to Golden Silver and Big Zeb in his last start at Punchestown.

“He’s really coming into himself,” De Bromhead said. “He’s just starting to really come into form, but we haven’t had as good a run-up as we had before he won the Arkle last year.

“He loves that (being prominent). He loves that pace. The faster we go in the first mile, the better for him – he could have them all off the bridle coming down the hill like he did in the Arkle.

“This year he has jumped a lot more deliberately, but we feel that was because he was going at a quite slower pace. But if you school him at home, and at speed, he just wings his fences.”

Sizing Europe is a 14 to 1 shot for the two-mile crown on Wednesday week.