Top two-mile chaser Un De Sceaux (Willie Mullins/Ruby Walsh) features among seven runners for the £70,000 Spectra Cyber Security Solutions Clarence House Chase (1.45pm) on Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham this Saturday, January 28.
The nine-year-old is going for a sixth G1 success in the extended two-mile race, which forms part of a superb day's racing at the Home of Jump Racing following the abandonment of Ascot last weekend.
Un De Sceaux, successful in the G1 Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown Park on his latest outing in December, boasts an excellent record at Cheltenham, having won the G1 Racing Post Arkle Novices' Chase at The Festival in 2015 and finished second to Sprinter Sacre in last year's G1 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The second Irish-trained runner is Special Tiara (Henry de Bromhead/Noel Fehily), who finished a nose behind Un De Sceaux in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase at The Festival in March.
Four of the 10-year-old chaser's six victories have been in Britain, including G1 wins in the 2013 Maghull Novices' Chase at Aintree and Celebration Chase at Sandown Park in April, 2015. Special Tiara was also successful on his most recent appearance when taking the G2 Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton Park on December 27.
Top Gamble (Kerry Lee/Davy Russell) has gained three successes at G2 level, including impressive wins last season in Newbury's Game Spirit Chase and the Norman's Grove Chase at Fairyhouse.
Both of the nine-year-old's appearances so far this season have been at Cheltenham and the son of Presenting returns to Prestbury Park on the back of a close third on New Year's Day in the G3 BetBright Best For Festival Betting Handicap Chase, in which he carried top-weight.
Herefordshire-based Lee reported today: "I couldn't be happier with Top Gamble. He is as well as he has been all season, we know that he likes Cheltenham and I am hoping that the forecast rain will arrive.
"Whilst this is a big step up in Grade, he is a three-time Grade Two winner. We have the utmost respect for the opposition, all six of them, but we are hopeful.
"It was a great run on New Year's Day and it might have been a different story if he had met the first two off level weights. The quality of Saturday's race is a lot higher but he is nine now and, if we don't have a go at a Grade One race this year, we never will."
Dodging Bullets (Paul Nicholls/Nick Scholfield) captured the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase at The Festival in 2015, while Uxizandre (Alan King/Barry Geraghty) makes his first appearance since taking the G1 Ryanair Chase at the same meeting.
The line-up is completed by Royal Regatta (Philip Hobbs/Richard Johnson), who steps up to G1 level for the first time following a career-best victory in a G2 Chase at Ascot in November, and Eastlake (Jonjo O'Neill/Wayne Hutchinson), successful in the Raymond Mould Handicap Chase at The International in December.
Declared runners for the eight other races on Festival Trials Day, including the G2 BetBright Trial Cotswold Chase (2.15pm) and the G2 Galliardhomes.com Cleeve Hurdle (4.00pm), will be revealed tomorrow, Friday, January 27.
The going at Cheltenham
It was very cold last night but there are no problems with frost covers, put down yesterday morning on the Chase & Hurdle Courses, protecting the ground. Vulnerable parts of the Cross Country Course were also covered yesterday.
Chase and Hurdle Courses: Good to Soft
Cross Country Course: Good, Good to Soft in places
Conditions are forecast to continue dry and cold until Friday. Milder weather is then predicted, with some rain on Friday/Saturday, yielding between three and five millimetres.
