Plans for Un De Sceaux remain fluid but there is a strong possibility he could be racing in France a good deal.

The Willie Mullins-trained eight-year-old was last season put in his place by Sprinter Sacre at Cheltenham and Sandown before returning to winning ways in France in May, after which he found three miles too far back at Auteuil in June.

"It's been very dry, which isn't good news for us," said part-owner Colm O'Connell. "That said, he's never out too early so it won't affect us and it's got to start raining soon. He's usually out the third week in November and he'll start off somewhere between two and two and a half miles.

"There are races in France we'll be looking at. He really seems to suit Auteuil and they are so valuable. Obviously there's the Tingle Creek (Sandown) but I'd prefer to avoid Sprinter Sacre if we could given what happened at Cheltenham and Sandown. There's the Ascot race Vautour won last year (Stella Artois 1965 Chase), and that could be an option."

"We might see Sprinter Sacre in March but then again we might not as we're so unlikely to get the ground we excel on. We might just concentrate on France. We love going there and he loves it, too. Willie never has his horses ready too early - they are always trained backwards from March - so I don't expect us to be out just yet, looking at what he's done in the past."