Eight possible runners for Arkle chase at Leopardstown
There are eight possible runners including two big names Blackstairmountain and Flemenstar, who will participate in the Frank Ward Solicitors Arkle Novice Chase, set to be held at Leopardstown this Sunday.
The Irish challenger, Blackstairmountain registered his second career victory by sealing the top position in the Racing Post Novice Chase last month. He will be Willie Mullins’ only trainee in the upcoming Grade 1 competition.
Flemenstar, on the other hand, is trained by Peter Casey, who is not as renowned as Willie Mullins. However, his horse is in terrific rhythm at the moment, as he stepped up in the class following a couple of his brilliant performances at Navan and
Naas.
Casey is pretty hopeful about his horse’s fine show at Leopardstown. However, the trainer admitted that a supportive ground will help the seven-year-old give his best shot.
"He seems to be in great form and the plan is to run, but I would be a bit concerned about the ground as he needs a good dig in it. I see there is rain forecast for Wednesday, so we'd be hoping they get a good drop up there," said Casey.
While eight raging horses are all set to produce a lot of excitement on the day, the audience will miss Tony Martin's Bog Warrior.
The eight-year-old started off his last race as favourite, with the winning chances of 4 to 5. However, his fall hampered him from completing his run, and the title was eventually won by Blackstairmountain on December 26, 2011.
The trainer described that even though the horse is fine, the management does not want to take any sort of risk.
The trainer added, "He's fine, I've just decided to wait an extra week so we can get a bit more done with him. There are plenty of races coming up for him and I just felt this weekend was coming a week too soon, so we've decided to give it a miss,"
said Tony Martin.
Although, Bog Warrior will not participate in the contest, Tony Martin's two other trainees, Gift Of Dgab and Nearest, are among the possible runners in the chase.
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