Charlie Longsdon will hope a fantastic season will be capped off by Vulcanite winning the Grade One William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The trainer has already beaten his previous best total of winners for a season and has confirmed that promising novice Vulcanite will run in the first race of the Festival.

“Vulcanite is a likely runner in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at this stage,” he said

“I’d like to think the more experience he gets the less keen he will be in his races. To be honest, I wouldn’t want the ground too quick at Cheltenham because he is quite upright, but it is always on the easy side of good on the first day at Cheltenham so I am sure that it will be fine.”

The owner of the horse, Sheikh Fahad al Than, has rapidly become one of the biggest players in Flat racing – Dunaden won both the Melbourne Cup and the Hong Kong Vase in 2011 – and the big-hitting sheikh is now seemingly turning his attention to the jumps.

“Sheikh Fahad is very keen on going to Cheltenham,” Longsdon added.

“That is reason behind having this horse as a jumper. He will not be investing in the jump game as he did on the Flat, but if this horse is a success he might have a few more, but if not then he probably won’t have any more, so it is quite important for us that we do a good job.”

Vulcanite, who put in an impressive performance at Southwell last month, at this stage is one of a current crop of 91 entries for the William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, with Jessica Harrington’s Steps To Freedom the 8-1 favourite with the sponsors. The ante-post hot-pot is one of 31 possible Irish runners, with Willie Mullins responsible for nine, the main standouts being Sous Les Cieux, Terminal and Midnight Game.

Irish trainer Dermot Weld has revealed it is “unlikely” that Unaccompanied will run in the Champion Hurdle.

The news has come in light of her richly disappointing run in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, where she finished a well-beaten fourth behind the ultra-impressive and leading contender for the Champion Hurdle at Prestbury Park, Hurricane Fly.

That performance has had many punters salivating over the chances of Willie Mullins’ charge defending his Champion crown and the even money quotes surrounding his chances have all but disappeared now such has been the momentum behind his chances.

Rival trainers have also admitted the performance was outstanding, including Nicky Henderson, who has classy youngster Grandouet all set to take on Hurricane Fly but now may think twice regarding his chances of toppling the hot favourite.

Nothing has been confirmed on that front, but Unaccompanied is all but certain not to turn up.

Her below-par run came as a surprise to many punters as she was well backed on the day of the race, going off a strong second favourite behind the eventual winner.

Before that disappointing effort, the five-year-old, who finished second in last year’s Triumph Hurdle at the Festival, had looked a real Champion Hurdle contender. She followed up a nice win in a Listed event at Naas with a top-class performance in the Istabraq Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas.

Conditions were very different last Sunday however, and Weld has admitted that didn’t play to her strengths.

“Unaccompanied wasn’t able to handle the very testing ground at Leopardstown and Davy [Russell] looked after her,” Weld said.

“She’s come out of the race okay and I will be talking, but it’s unlikely she go the the Cheltenham Festival and take on Hurricane Fly again.

“We could aim her at the Rabobank Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, although we will also be looking at some good Flat races for her, including the Alleged Stakes at the Curragh, which she won last year.”

The quirky yet talented six-year-old made his chasing debut at Taunton on Tuesday and put in a sparkling round of jumping on route to an easy victory that had some bookmakers cutting him into 16-1 for the Arkle.

That price does look fair enough though, as if he lines up, the Nicholls’ charge will have to face the Sprinter Sacre, Al Ferof and Peddlers Cross, all of whom have the potential ability to do great things now and in the future.

It’s also wise to bear in mind that Sanctuaire is far from straightforward and since his win at Cheltenham in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle at the Festival in 2010, he has been frustrating to follow, including refusing to race at Kempton on his last start over hurdles. Put simply, consistency isn’t one of his strong points and Nicholls has openly admitted he’s a bit of a tool.

But the switch to fences could be the key to success with a horse that looked a real top prospect when landing that aforementioned race at the Festival two years ago.

Nicholls eventually may not decide to run both Al Ferof and Sanctuaire in the Arkle, but at the moment, he isn’t ruling out the prospect.

“I think the will have done him the world of good, both mentally and physically,” Nicholls said.

“Once he jumps off, he’s very obviously a tool. He was a bit guessy at jumping, but that can improve.

“I did put him in the Arkle and he’d be something to follow round Aintree, but we’ll see. I could run him in the Kingmaker at Warwick [later in February] now, or find him another small race.”

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.

It has been revealed that Diamond Harry’s involvement in this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup could be in doubt after the horse suffered breathing difficulties over the weekend.

The former Hennessey Gold Cup winner – who is expected to be a major force at the Cheltenham Festival in March – will now undergo an investigation to try and determined exactly what the problem is.

The fact that Diamond Harry managed to finish 5th in the recent Argento Chase, regardless of any problems, shows the potential of the horse but part-owner Paul Duffy admits that the situation is being assessed.

He said: “We believe he has a breathing problem. Noel Fehily reported he was gasping for air so we are having it investigated – I spoke to Noel yesterday and he thought the horse did very well in light of the problem.”

“Diamond Harry is seeing the vet tomorrow to see what the issue is. It is not impossible he could still go for the Gold Cup, we are still looking at that, but if he can’t make it there are other races in the calendar, like the three-mile chase at Aintree.”

Elsewhere in horse racing news, Tom George has revealed that he will give Baby Mix a vital run before the Cheltenham Festival as he looks to get preparations for the famous event just right.

Speaking about the four-year-old and referring to a poor run in December, George said: “Baby Mix disappointed in the juvenile hurdle. “

“He has been checked over by the vet this morning and everything appears to be normal. It is highly likely we will give him a run in between now and the Festival.”

The event George is planning to run in the lead up to the Festival remains to be seen, but it is hoped that he will come through well and continue to be one of the favourites for the JCB Triumph Hurdle in March.

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

David Pipe has revealed that the hugely impressive steeplechaser Grands Crus will enjoy a rest with March’s Cheltenham Festival in mind.

The seven-year-old is a major contender for Cheltenham Gold Cup glory of course and after winning the Feltham Chase on Boxing Day, it was expected that this weekend would be when preparations for the famous Festival are stepped up.

However, after consideration to the short-term as well as long-term prospects, Pipe has decided to give this weekend a miss to avoid asking too much of Grands Crus at an important time of year.

The trainer said: “We’ve decided we don’t want to give him a hard race with Cheltenham just around the corner in March.”

“He could run at Newbury on February 11, Betfair Trophy day, in a three-mile novice chase, not in the Denman. The horse is absolutely fine, though, we just decided not to run.”

Whether this turns out to be the right decision will remain to be seen. It will certainly be interesting to see the type of form Grands Crus is in at Newbury in February. Before then, it’s a case of resting up and shifting the focus to other Gold Cup contenders.

Elsewhere in horse racing news, Richard Johnson has spoken positively about the capabilities of Captain Chris, saying that a run at the Gold Cup in March is a distinct possibility for last season’s Arkle Trophy winner.

He said: “The plan at the moment is for him to run in the Argento Chase. I schooled him on Monday and he felt very well. He’s come out pretty well after the King George.”

“I didn’t feel he was quite 100pc there but hopefully he’s coming back to himself and last year, in the spring, he really came to himself.”

I didn’t feel he didn’t stay in the King George, he just didn’t travel and jump the way I know he can.”

“He was fine, but he won the Arkle over two miles and has plenty of pace and he was a bit sluggish in the King George. It just didn’t seem to happen for him.”

“I’m pretty sure he’ll stay the Gold Cup trip of three miles two (furlongs).”

“He’ll be entered in the Ryanair and the Gold Cup, but, obviously, if he can’t put up a bold show on Saturday, he’s going to struggle in the Gold Cup.”

As ever, there are lots of decisions for trainers to make ahead of a crucial few months in the horse racing calendar.

Donald McCain has revealed that Peddlers Cross could go straight into the Cheltenham Festival without another run. A few options had been considered in the lead up to the Racing Post Arkle Trophy in March, but now it seems a decision has been made.

Peddlers Cross lost out to Sprinter Sacre at Kempton recently of course and there are many who saw this as a significant moment with regards to Cheltenham preparations, but McCain isn’t panicking.

Speaking about the next month or two for Peddlers Cross, he said: “There has been plenty said about Peddlers Cross after Kempton but I can give you the latest on him and it all seems to be very positive.”

“He seems very happy in himself and he is back on the road and working very nicely. Having weighed up the options, I would think it is highly likely that he will now go straight to the Arkle.”

“here only seemed to be two suitable races that fitted in the timescale available to us and neither would be ideal.”

“I don’t think Warwick would suit him especially well and the other option at Kelso might mean having to run on ground that would be more demanding than I would want so close to the Festival.”

“He’s got enough experience over fences as far as I am concerned and the main thing now is to have him absolutely spot on for the day that matters.”

As with many trainers, we shall see if McCain has made the right decision by the time the Cheltenham Festival is been and gone in March. Some will say Peddlers Cross will be undercooked, others – including McCain – believe the benefits of freshness will be witnessed.

Elsewhere, Andy Stewart has admitted that his horse Big Bucks will eventually get beaten. Ahead of what is expected to be another successful few months, he said: “You never know what will happen, and one day he will get beaten.”

“At Ascot he looked better than ever. There was a moment three out where Ruby (Walsh) was careful, but after that it was a formality.”

Midnight Chase has emerged as a Cheltenham Gold Cup contender after winning the ‘dress rehearsal’ for the famous event – the Argento Chase.

This victory on Saturday was a significant moment for the 10-year-old and even though the two massive favourites for Gold Cup glory – Long Run and Kauto Star – were not involved, Midnight Chase has shown excellent potential.

Perhaps if either of the two big guns are to perform below par in March, Midnight Chase can take advantage and follow up Saturday’s victory with Gold Cup glory.

Trainer Neil Mulholland is certainly positive about how the Cheltenham Festival might go, saying: “I said before he was as well as he was in December just over a year ago – but older and stronger.”

“Kauto Star and Long Run weren’t here today but this was the Gold Cup without them so we’ll enjoy it. We might be third or fourth in March but we’re a small yard and we’d be very happy with that.”

“Neither Long Run nor Kauto Star were here today, but they’re just about the only ones who weren’t, and look what he’s done to the ones who were here.”

“He was fifth in the Gold Cup last year and he’s in the same sort of form now, except he’s got stronger and more mature.”

Many pundits have their own thoughts on Midnight Chase of course. They believe Mulholland’s hopeful will simply be a pace-setter for Kauto Star and Long Run.

This takes nothing away from victory at the Argento Chase though and nothing away from how focused Midnight Chase should be when it is time for the Gold Cup.

Strange things have happened in horse racing before and they will happen again. Midnight Chase just needs to be there, in the thick of the Gold Cup action, to capitalise if and when they do.

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.