Rubi Light is set for a run out at the Gowran in February before heading into action at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

The two-and-a-half mile contest is seen as a perfect test for the seven-year-old who will be looking to build on a third place finish at the Ryanair Chase in 2011.

Prior to this impressive performance, the Robbie Hennessy trained horse secured victory at the Red Mills Chase, so everyone involved in preparation for this year’s Cheltenham Festival will be hoping for a similar outcome.

Referring to the plans for Rubi Light, Hennessy explained: “We are going to give him a run in Gowran Park on the 18th of February in the Red Mills and that’s something to look forward to with him first.”

“He won it last year and the weather forecast is bad for the foreseeable future, so I imagine the ground will be testing, which would play to his strengths.”

“After that we’ll just keep him ticking over for Cheltenham. He doesn’t need long coming out of his races. He need the same last year.”

Rubi Light is seen as a major contender for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham this year of course. Currently the second favourite behind Noble Prince after a successful campaign, the William Hennessy owned horse is being backed by many punters.

Elsewhere, after a successful trials day at Cheltenham, the Festival options for The Giant Bolster are being considered by trainer David Bridgwater.

The stable star has already been entered for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle and Betfred Gold Cup, but these might not be the only races he is taking part in at Cheltenham.

Bridgwater explained: “We will have a look at the Racing+ Chase at Kempton for him now and see how that’s shaping up.”

“Obviously you want to win at the Festival and it’s on everyone’s radar, but we just need to do what’s right for the horse. We’re on a positive with him now and we don’t want to take a step back with him.”

“He will go up a few pounds for Saturday and if he were to go up 10lb or 12lb and then go and win at Kempton, he would suddenly be something like third or fourth favourite for the Gold Cup.

“We need to see how he runs next time but there are options there for him. He’s entered in the World Hurdle but basically that’s in case something went wrong. We will see how he runs next time before setting out a plan.”

With just a matter of weeks to go until the Cheltenham Festival, the planning from trainers and owners is certainly going into overdrive at the moment. By the time the action kicks off on the 13th March though, the talking will stop and the racing will begin.

At one point on Saturday it looked as if Big Buck’s and jockey Ruby Walsh were in trouble, but they managed to come through and win the race. Even so, punters expressed concern afterwards with regards to the nine-year-old’s health.

Quashing these concerns though, Nicholls said: “He’s done well winning 15 on the trot, and they’ve all been decent races. He was his normal self on Saturday – he looked beaten for a second and then wins easily. That’s just him.”

“He’s come out of the race very well, he cantered (on Tuesday) and now we’ll just tick him over and get him right for the Festival.”

“He ran a great race and Harry (Derham) had a great ride off him as well. He’d been ill since he ran at Cheltenham over Christmas, but he’ll go for the Ryanair Chase now.”

“He’s run well in it for the past two years, but he just falls a little short of Grade One level. He always runs a solid race and he’s better off in the Ryanair than in a handicap.”

There certainly seems no doubt that Nicholls will have Big Buck’s in perfect shape for Cheltenham and as many have stated, it is going to take an extraordinary performance to stop him.

Elsewhere in horse racing news related to Cheltenham, Big Zeb trainer Colm Murhpy has revealed that the Queen Mother Champion Chase contender is in excellent shape a few weeks before the Festival.

He said: “Preparations are going very well. Ideally we would need better ground but we are going to stick to the same plan as last year.”

“We will run on Sunday and then on to Cheltenham and finally back to the Champion Chase at the Punchestown Festival, all going well.”

Big Zeb is now an 11-year-old but he can’t count so we are all right on that front!”

Preparations are certainly getting more and more interesting for the Cheltenham Festival, with many leading contenders only taking to the field once more before the March event

Trainer Paul Nolan has admitted he was disappointed with Noble Prince’s most recent display, but is convinced that the horse will be more than ready for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham in March.

The eight-year-old lost out to Blazing Tempo at the Normans Grove Chase on Sunday and instead of brush off the defeat, Nolan admitted it was a slight concern, but is hopeful that it won’t affect the chances of success at Cheltenham.

He said: “He’s 100%. We were disappointed, but hopefully ground-wise he’ll improve for Cheltenham and he has to improve on that run.”

“We’ll get him ready for Cheltenham now. The same views about the ground at Fairyhouse were given about the mare that beat us. We’ve just got to hope he improves for Cheltenham.”

“He likes a break between his races, but we’re not making excuses for Sunday’s defeat.”

The performance at the Normans Grove Chase will soon be forgotten if Noble Prince storms to victory at the Ryanair Chase in March of course. Perhaps it will ensure that everyone involved with the horses preparation is even more focused than usual.

Elsewhere, another horse looking at making sure their preparation for Cheltenham is spot on is Long Run. Fancied as a massive contender for the Gold Cup, it has been confirmed that the Nicky Henderson trained horse will take part in the Betfair Denman Chase next month.

Henderson revealed today: “The plan is to go to Newbury for the Denman Chase as I do want to get another run into him before Cheltenham.”

“We narrowed the gap between Kauto Star from Haydock to Kempton and I’d like to think Cheltenham will be in our favour.”

Henderson is definitely correct when he talks about the rivalry between Kauto Star and Long Run. It is set to be one of many battles to take place at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival.

Ahead of the Cheltenham Festival in a couple of month’s time, trainer Nicky Henderson has already accepted defeat to Big Bucks in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

The famous horse has won this race for three successive years and despite Henderson being confident of having a successful four days at Cheltenham, winning the World Hurdle could be a step too far.

Referring to this very subject, he said: “I can’t see how he is going to win the Champion Hurdle. It is well worth Oscar Whisky taking on Big Buck’s as there is a lot of prize money on offer and second in the World Hurdle would be better than third or fourth in a Champion Hurdle.”

“A lot of people say he won’t stay three miles. I would be surprised if he didn’t.”

There are of course other contenders for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle in March, including Robin Dickin’s Restless Harry.

Speaking about the eight-year-old’s preparations for Cheltenham, Dickin’s said: “The World Hurdle is on the radar for Restless Harry and we will make a decision whether to keep him over hurdles or return to chasing in due course.”

“He will probably be entered in the Cleeve Hurdle on Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham and he could go for the Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase on the same card. If he didn’t run there, I might look at the Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock instead.”

“He got a little bit chopped coming round the top turn in last year’s Ladbrokes World Hurdle and I think that he has improved slightly since then.”

Whether this is enough to compete with Big Bucks though remains to be seen and there is no doubt that the reigning Champion is the overwhelming favourite to take the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

The Nicky Henderson-trained seven-year-old wasn’t expected to feature in the prestigious race let alone be placed as the fourth favourite, instead featuring heavily in the betting for the RSA Chase also held during the Cheltenham festival.

Bobs Worth rose to prominence after winning one of his two starts over fences this season but was a surprise inclusion in the 34 entries for the race, with Henderson’s Oscar Whiskey installed as second favourite and Big Buck 8/3 favourite to win the prestigious race.

Thousand Stars is the only other horse placed ahead of Bobs Worth, with bookies placing him at 10/1 for the three mile race, while Overturn joins Henderson’s charge at 12/1.

Restless Harry, who finished ninth in last year’s race is on course to make a greater impact this time round after his excellent performance when comprehensively winning a Grade 2 Hurdle at Wetherby in October.

His trainer Robin Dickin said: “The Ladbrokes World Hurdle is on the radar for Restless Harry and we will make a decision whether to keep him over hurdles or return to chasing in due course.

“He will probably be entered in the Cleeve Hurdle on Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham and he could go for the Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase on the same card. If he didn’t run there, I might look at the Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock instead.

“He never runs a bad race and his Wetherby run at the start of the season was astonishing. I am not quite sure what that was about so I am not sure how to recreate it – I would have thought that the run would have brought him on.”

As ever, there is plenty to discuss at this time of year with less than two months to go until the 2012 Cheltenham Festival gets underway.

As the build-up for the 2012 Cheltenham Festival continues, Paul Nolan has revealed that Noble Prince will be a major contender for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham on the 15th March.

Speaking about his plans for last year’s Jewson Novices’ Chase winner, he said: “Hopefully, Noble Prince will run in the Ryanair Chase. He goes for the Normans Grove Chase at Fairyhouse on January 22 and that will be his final run before he heads to Cheltenham.”

“We were very pleased with him at Leopardstown. Big Zeb beat us easily in the end but it was a very good run from our horse and I think that he will improve with a faster pace.”

“He’s still a decent enough two-mile chaser but two miles and five furlongs around Cheltenham is right up his street.”

“He travelled and jumped well in the Jewson last season. The Ryanair will obviously be different gravy this time and it looks like it will be a very competitive contest.”

Elsewhere, Sarah Humphrey has been speaking about her plans for the famous March event.

The latest significant news with regards to the trainer’s preparations is that Carpincho could form part of a small, yet high-quality team for the Festival after his recent victory at Fontwell.

Referring to Carpincho, Humphrey said: “I’m very pleased with that – we were worried about him getting cover so we thought he should take them along and get into a rhythm.”

“He’ll go to Cheltenham now at the end of the month, and the big plan is to take him back there for the Byrne Group Plate at the Festival.”

“He does like it on the soft side, but would have preferred a galloping track. We might also run Court Red Handed in the four-miler and Dorset Square in the Pertemps.”

Humphrey will certainly look set to use the next couple of months to assess her options for Cheltenham, much like every trainer in the time before the four days of racing.

As ever, much could change between now and the Cheltenham Festival so watch this space!

Warren Greatrex has revealed that he will wait and see how Knight Pass performs at Aintree this weekend before making any firm decisions about the Cheltenham Festival.

The six-year-old may well have had success so far in his career – including in the handicap company at Kempton recently – but Greatrex doesn’t want to make any commitments just yet.

Referring to the development of Knight Pass, he said: “I’m very happy with him at the moment. He had a quiet few days after Kempton, but he’s back in full work now.”

“The form of his run at Sandown looks pretty good now. He was giving weight to the first two and both have won since. I still maintain the soft ground was against him that day and on better ground, it might have been a different story.”

“He’s going for an open handicap at Ascot a week on Saturday and he should get in that on a nice weight off a mark of 135.”

“We could look at trials day at Cheltenham after that and go for a novice, but we’ll see. We’ll take a view after his next run.”

“At the moment I’d be leaning towards going for one of the handicaps at the Festival, but we’ll have to see how he gets on at Ascot first.”

This is a familiar pattern for horses training for the Cheltenham Festival of course. Their trainers take it one race at a time and assess the fitness and form before making plans about the four-day event in March.

On a similar note, it has been revealed that Don Cassack is doubtful for the Cheltenham Festival. Yesterday, Gordon Elliot suggested that the Champion Bumper favourite might not be up to such a massive event this year.

He said: “He’s fine, but I’d say it’s very doubtful he’ll go to Cheltenham. He’s done very well to win his two races this season, but he’s a nice horse with a big future and he’ll either have just one more run this season or he won’t run at all.”

There are bound to be plenty of twists and turns before the Cheltenham Festival gets underway though, so who knows what could happen in the next couple of months.

Cheltenham entry Rubi Light will bypass the Irish Hennessy and instead aim for back to back wins at the Red Mills Chase at Gowran next month.

The hugely talented seven-year-old stepped up to three miles in the Lexus Chase in December, coming home in second place behind the impressive Synchronised, but will instead drop down to the two miles four furlong race at Gowran ahead of another crack of the whip in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.

Rubi Light finished third in that race last year, and trainer Robbie Hennessy says the plan is to target the Red Mills Chase ahead of the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham festival later this year.

“The plan is to go for the Red Mills at Gowran, a race he won last year, and then go to the Ryanair,” said Hennessy.

Hennessy also revealed that he did not plan to enter Rubi Light into a three mile race for the rest of the season.

“We will leave three miles for the rest of the season. He’s only young and we don’t want to put the gun to his head too soon.” He said.

Jockey Andrew Lynch rode Rubi Light to victory in the Red Mills last year but success at Cheltenham eluded him, and Hennessy is hopeful that if conditions go their way he take the win this time round.

“It would be great if there was a bit of juice in the ground at Cheltenham this time.

“He ran well in the Ryanair last year, but the first thing Andrew (Lynch) said getting off him was that he’d have won if it had been a bit softer.”

Hopes of an Irish winner of the Gold Cup were dealt a blow with the news Rubi Light will go in the Ryanair Chase instead of competing in the prestigious Gold Cup, where his odds had drifted as short as 20/1 before Hennessy’s announcement.

King has only been training Hold on Julio for around a year, but has shown excellent form ever since with all preparations building up to the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Speaking about the progress, King said: “I was delighted with him. His jumping could have been better but he powered away in the end and hopefully we can sort the jumping out.”

He’s obviously had problems in his early career but apart from a bout of ringworm a few weeks ago, we’ve had a lovely, clear run with him.

“When we started working him in the autumn, everyone who sat on him fell in love with him, so we knew he was a good horse.”

“He was a stone higher yesterday than he was on his first run and I’d imagine he’ll go up another stone now, but when you win a £50,000 race, you don’t mind as much!”

“The three-mile handicap (JLT Specialty Chase) on the opening day of the Festival would look the obvious target for him at Cheltenham and I’d imagine he’ll have another run somewhere beforehand.

“I haven’t had a proper look yet but we’ll try to find something in the middle of February.”

King has certainly got things right in terms of Hold on Julio’s development so far and many would expect him to do so in the three months before the Cheltenham Festival takes centre stage.

Elsewhere, Sheena West has revealed that Golan Way is currently on a mid-winter break in a bid to get in a better place for Cheltenham in March.

He said: “He could never get into a rhythm in the King George and Marc (Goldstein) said he never felt like the same horse he was at Sandown.”

“He went quick all the way at Sandown, yet Marc said he couldn’t even get up to that pace from the off so we know it wasn’t him.”

As ever, it is all go in the winter months for trainers, punters and jockeys alike!

The Nicky Henderson trained horse has been in fantastic form in the year since the last Festival at Cheltenham, but will step up to three miles for the first time in March, so there is an element of uncertainty.

This is providing he comes through the Welsh Champion Hurdle without any problems of course.

Referring to the preparations for the World Hurdle, Irish jockey Geraghty said: “The doctor’s orders before were not to give him a hard race (at Cheltenham), so he didn’t get one.”

“It was perfect. He is a very versatile hurdler because he’d win an ordinary Champion Hurdle. He is top-class at two and a half, as he showed when winning at Aintree, and has the potential to stay three miles, which will bring in the World Hurdle.”

“He would have a realistic chance of the three-mile crown in March but anyone would have to have the greatest respect for Big Buck’s, but you can’t be afraid to take him on.”

“I’d hope that their relative prices wouldn’t truly reflect their real chance – but I’m biased. I’d like to think we would give the champ a rattle.”

Elsewhere in horse racing news related to Cheltenham, Noble Prince will run in the Hennessy Gold Cup in February as trainer Paul Nolan assesses the correct preparation for the two-mile-five-furlong Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

He said: “He’ll be entered in the Normans Grove Chase in Fairyhouse, and he could also be entered in the Hennessy. The Normans Grove is over two miles and a furlong and the Hennessy is obviously three miles, so those are the options.”

“If the ground at Leopardstown came up nice like it was at Christmas then the Hennessy could be a possibility. The only worry with that is that it could come too close to Cheltenham, so we’ll see.”

Nolan is just one of many trainers looking to get the preparation for the Cheltenham Festival spot on as the countdown to the famous festival continues.