JIM Dreaper heads to Navan tomorrow with a genuine contender for the Ladbrokes.com Troytown Chase with the seven-year-old Venitien De Mai.

The son of Network has relatively few miles on the clock and is well suited by testing ground. Dreaper’s assistant and son Tom said: “He seems to be very well and the softer the ground the better for him. It’s not that he needs it, but he seems to handle those conditions better than most and granted normal luck in running, I’d like to think that he is capable of running a big race.”