Finian’s Rainbow features among eight confirmations for Saturday’s 25th Anniversary Of The Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot.
Last month’s Desert Orchid Chase winner, trained by Nicky Henderson, is the highest British-trained horse in the betting for the Queen Mother Champion Chase and will bid to enhance his Cheltenham claims on Saturday.
Champion trainer Paul Nicholls has a major hope in exciting novice Al Ferof, while Tom Cooper’s Forpadydeplasterer could make the journey from Ireland.
Henrietta Knight’s Somerbsy and the Philip Hobbs-trained Wishfull Thinking are other major contenders, along with Gauvain from the Nick Williams stable.
I’m So Lucky and Oiseau De Nuit complete the entries.
The Nicholls-trained Kauto Stone was one of four withdrawals.
Finian’s Rainbow’s owner Michael Buckley is looking forward to seeing his charge in action this weekend and is confident he will prove a tough nut to crack.
“I hope he’s got a good chance. Certainly if he’s got any pretensions of running in the Champion Chase, he has to have a good chance of winning this,” Buckley told At The Races.
“He’s a changed character this year. Having been a bit of a tearaway, he’s much more laid-back now. He’s quietened down considerably.
“You can ride him in behind horses now, when previously he was always tugging.”
Jockey Barry Geraghty is equally hopeful, but acknowledges he faces plenty of talented opponents.
“He made a desperate mistake at the fourth last at Kempton and did well to get back up and win,” he said.
“He should improve an awful lot for that and I think Ascot should play more to his strengths than Kempton so I’d be very hopeful.”
