RACING:IRISHMAN NEIL Mulholland is pondering whether to bring his star performer Midnight Chase to Down Royal next month for the Grade One JNwine Champion Chase.

Midnight Chase was fifth to Long Run in last season’s Gold Cup after earlier winning four races in a row and Mulholland is keen to take up the Grade One challenge despite other options in Wetherby’s Charlie Hall Chase and the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

“We’re looking at Down Royal very seriously as it’s a front-runners track. It all depends on the ground really, hopefully the ground will be nice,” the Dorset-based trainer said yesterday.

“I grew up just eight miles from Down Royal so I’ve followed the race and there’s never many runners. Kauto has won it twice in the last three years. He beat Sizing Europe in it last year and he’s a two miler. It’s good prize money and they offer a good package to go over so we’ll be looking at it very seriously,” he added.

Henry De Bromhead has taken over training the 2010 Cheltenham festival-winner Berties Dream and is set to give the gelding his first start at Thurles tomorrow. Winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle in 2010 for Paul John Gilligan, he was last seen pulling up in France after finishing just over eight lengths behind Big Buck’s in the World Hurdle in March.

He holds entries in the Beginners Chase and the Premier County Hurdle at Thurles.

“I’d say he will possibly run in the conditions hurdle. With his rating it would be a nice race to start off in,” said De Bromhead  yesterday.