Connections of A Plus Tard will make a late call on his participation in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown next week.
Last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup hero was a last-gasp winner of the Grade One contest in 2020, but the boot was on the other foot 12 months ago as he was headed close home by Galvin.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned eight-year-old is favourite to regain his crown on December 28th, despite a disappointing defence of the Betfair Chase at Haydock last month.
A Plus Tard was pulled up on Merseyside and, while Henry de Bromhead was initially perplexed, he later revealed a “couple of issues” had been discovered, including unsatisfactory blood test results.
Cheveley Park director Richard Thompson would love to see him bounce back over the Christmas period, but insists there is “no pressure” on De Bromhead to run if he is not completely happy with the brilliant chaser.
“A final decision has not been made yet. Final declarations are on Monday and we’ll leave it to Henry to see how he feels,” said Thompson.
“The horse wasn’t well obviously after Haydock and we’re still gunning for the Gold Cup in March, of course. The Savills would be great to run in – he’s run in it the last two years and run very well in it, but it’s Henry’s decision.”
While there is no definitive answer, Thompson suspects A Plus Tard picked up a bug either in transit or after arriving at Haydock ahead of his bid for back-to-back Betfair Chase wins.
He added: “He wasn’t a well horse at Haydock. Between leaving Ireland on the Thursday and the race on the Saturday something happened as he was great when he came from Ireland.
“It’s just one of those things that happens. I can be well today and not well tomorrow.
“He’s a horse that’s done so well for us over the last three years. He won his first Grade One over Christmas 2019, he’s a Gold Cup winner, a Betfair Chase winner and a Savills Chase winner.
“There’s no pressure at all to run if he’s not 100 per cent.”
Pádraig Roche is excited to see Cougar test his powers at Grade Two level in the Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day.
Having achieved a Flat rating of 92 after winning a Curragh maiden by seven lengths for Aidan O’Brien during the summer, the son of Deep Impact is now two from two over hurdles.
A successful start to his jumping career at Gowran Park was followed by a comfortable victory at Down Royal in early November, since when he has been kept fresh for his Christmas assignment.
Roche said: “He seems in good form, so all going well the plan is to run on St Stephen’s Day. We decided to wait after Down Royal and so far, so good. We’re looking forward to running him.”
This is the second season running Roche has trained a high-class juvenile for leading owner JP McManus, with Brazil providing him with a first Cheltenham Festival success in the Boodles in March.
Roche admits it is difficult to compare the pair, adding: “They don’t work together or anything and they’re two completely different horses.
“Cougar is very exciting and a nice horse to have. The Leopardstown race looks very competitive so it’ll be something to look forward to.”
Brazil could also be in action over the festive period after being entered for the Grade Two Coolmore NH Sires Kew Gardens Hurdle at Limerick on December 29th.
The Galileo colt saw off the potentially high-class Gaelic Warrior when claiming Festival glory and was last seen beating subsequent chase winner Fil Dor in the Grade Three Fishery Lane Hurdle at Naas last month.
“He has the entry in Limerick. Frank [Berry, racing manager] and JP will decide if they want to run him or not, but he’s in good form at home anyway,” said Roche.
“He came out of Naas very well and we’re very happy with him, so we’ll see how things pan out. It’s very exciting. We’re very lucky to have two nice horses, it’s great.”
Meanwhile, the seasonal reappearance of the top-class Sir Gerhard has been further delayed after he suffered an injury.
The 2021 Champion Bumper winner was one of the star performers in the novice hurdling division last season, winning a Grade One at the Dublin Racing Festival and the Ballymore at Cheltenham in March.
He was entered for the last month’s Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown, but did not take his chance and connections have since confirmed their intention to pursue a career over fences.
However, Sir Gerhard does not hold any engagements over the festive period and Richard Thompson is unsure at this stage when he will return.
He said: “Sir Gerhard’s got an injury, unfortunately. He’s going to be out for a few weeks.
“That [chasing] is still the idea, but he won’t run over the Christmas period. Whether he’s back for Cheltenham, who knows? It’s disappointing.”
The Cheveley Park team have enjoyed huge success since upping their interest in National Hunt racing in recent years, with Gold Cup hero A Plus Tard and dual Ryanair Chase winner Allaho among those to carry the famous red, white and blue colours to Festival glory.
Things have not gone so well for the team so far this season, however, with Sir Gerhard the latest star to join a sidelined list that also includes Allaho and Ferny Hollow.
Thompson added: “Ferny Hollow is out for the season, obviously, and as we know Allaho was out for six weeks. He should be back in training soon and hopefully he’ll be fine.
“Last season was absolutely fantastic, winning nine Grade Ones with three Cheltenham winners including the Gold Cup with A Plus Tard.
“We were always going to hit a bump in the road, I think. We’ve already won a Grade One this season with Envoi Allen and if we could win another couple of Grade Ones it would be fantastic – but as I‘ve always said, everything is a bonus.
“It’s been a fantastic run for us and we have to expect in the racing game, and with National Hunt in particular, there’s going to be some injuries. That’s the way it goes.”
