This is a subscriber-only article
It looks like you're browsing in private mode
Presenting Percy is set to face eight rivals as he has his first run for trainer Gordon Elliott in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday.
Owner Philip Reynolds switched his star from Pat Kelly’s stable after the nine-year-old’s winless last campaign ended with a fall in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Presenting Percy has not won over fences since showing his class in the RSA Chase at the 2018 Festival.
He will have a new rider in Denis O’Regan, because his regular partner Davy Russell is on the long-term injury list.
Half of the opposition on Saturday will come from his own stable – with Elliott also declaring Alpha Des Obeaux, Delta Work, Ravenhill and The Storyteller in a race featuring representatives from just three stables.
Henry de Bromhead is double-handed with Balko Des Flos and Chris’s Dream – while Noel Meade’s pair Snow Falcon and Tout Est Permis complete the field.
Elsewhere on the card, all eyes will be on another Elliott inmate when his dual Cheltenham Festival winner Samcro makes his seasonal reappearance in the Lough Construction Ltd Chase.
The highly-regarded eight-year-old got his career firmly back on track with victory in the Marsh Novices’ Chase.
Elliott also supplies Battleoverdoyen in a field of five – completed by Easy Game, Sizing Pottsie and Yaha Fizz.
WETHERBY RUNNERS
Cyrname is set to face nine rivals in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.
The highest-rated chaser in Britain – following his victory over Altior at Ascot last November – the Paul Nicholls-trained eight-year-old subsequently disappointed when a hot favourite for the King George at Kempton before suffering a heavy fall in February Ascot Chase.
With coronavirus travel complications prompting connections to shelve plans to run in this weekend’s Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal, it was a straight choice on Saturday between a trip to Wetherby or giving away lumps of weight in the Sodexo Gold Cup at Ascot.
It was confirmed on Thursday morning that Cyrname would appear in West Yorkshire for what will be his first start on a left-handed track since finishing fourth at Aintree in the spring of 2018.
Kim Bailey faced the same choice with Vinndication, and has also elected to head for Wetherby instead of bidding for back-to-back wins in the Sodexo Gold Cup.
The Vinnie Roe gelding was last seen finishing a close fourth in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Last year’s Charlie Hall hero Ballyoptic returns to defend his crown for Nigel Twiston-Davies, while Brian Ellison’s 2018 winner Definitly Red is also in contention.
Jedd O’Keeffe saddles stable star Sam Spinner, and Warren Greatrex fires a couple of bullets in Keeper Hill and La Bague Au Roi.
Harriet Graham’s Aye Right, the Mick Channon-trained Mister Whitaker and Saint Xavier from Richard Hobson’s yard complete the field.
Last season’s surprise Stayers’ Hurdle winner Lisnagar Oscar tops nine runners declared for the bet365 Hurdle – better known as the West Yorkshire Hurdle.
Rebecca Curtis’ charge will concede upwards of 6lb to the rest of the field – including Colin Tizzard’s Copperhead, Noel Kelly’s Irish raider Decor Irlandais and the Twiston-Davies-trained Wholestone.
Next Destination is a fascinating contender on his debut for the Nicholls yard, having been off the track since beating Delta Work in a Grade One novice hurdle at the 2018 Punchestown Festival for Willie Mullins.
GET EXCLUSIVE SATURDAY RACING TIPS FROM RORY DELARGY & DONN McCLEAN IN THE IRISH FIELD
IN THE IRISH FIELD THIS WEEKEND: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JIM BOLGER & IN-DEPTH NOEL MEADE STABLE TOUR
SHARING OPTIONS: