Murphy looking to Master Minded to help bring the best out of Kalahari King

The two horses clash in a high-quality renewal of the Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot, and though the Murphy-trained horse beat Master Minded when finishing third in last year's Champion Chase, these two great rivals have experienced contrasting fortunes more recently.

Master Minded has been back to his brilliant best and was an imperious winner of the Tingle Creek Chase last month, a race that saw Kalahari King, now 10, among the also-rans after failing to recover from two hesitant jumps early on in the speed test.

And while the bay gelding, owned by Neil and Julie

Morgan, was running on when fifth behind Brian Ellison's well-regarded Palomar on the all-weather at Southwell

recently, Saturday's two mile, one furlong test may, still, be on the short side.

Nevertheless, Murphy is running out of options as he prepares Kalahari King for the Ryanair Chase, over two and a half miles, at the Cheltenham Festival rather than the ferociously quick Champion Chase.

"We're very happy with him. He's done his final bit of work and he's come through it grand," said the West Witton trainer. "We ran him in a bumper at Southwell basically just to get some action into him. He does himself well at home and gets very fat so we had to get him active.

"At level weights with Master Minded he's entitled to be 20-1, but I think we could nick a bit of prize-money. I'm hoping the track will suit him – he's been very good going right-handed round Punchestown and Musselburgh. You could have a few bob each-way. It won't be going astray, I think."

It is "highly unlikely" King George VI Chase hero Long Run will run again before the Cheltenham Festival after

dethroning Kauto Star with a brilliant display at Kempton on Saturday.

Nicky Henderson is now aiming to have him back at the peak of his powers for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. "He's come out of it really well. He's been out in the paddock for a bit and it went really good," said the trainer.

Meanwhile the vanquished Kauto Star, who plodded home in third place, is set for a course of antibiotics after tests

revealed he is suffering from an infection.

Trainer Paul Nicholls told Twitter: "Just had Kauto Star's blood test results. Shows signs of inflammation and low-grade infection. Week's antibiotics and easy few days."

Don't Push It will have one more run before attempting to become the first horse to land successive Grand Nationals since the legendary Red Rum in 1973-74.

Jonjo O'Neill believes his stable star has "a great chance" of a repeat success if he heads to Aintree in similar form to last April when the victorious horse gave the trainer, owner JP McManus and jockey Tony McCoy an unforgettable first success in the world's greatest steeplechase.

"He is obviously going to have to carry more weight and things will be tougher for him," acknowledged O'Neill. "If he goes back in the same form and enjoys himself as much as he did last season, then he would have a great chance.

"I would like to run him over fences before the Grand National if I could find a race that would suit him, but there are no races for him unless you go for a marathon trip. You don't want to do that before Aintree with a horse like him because he puts a lot into his races."

Tidal Bay is on course for a crack at the Argento Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday week.

The 10-year-old ran his best race for some time when second to Imperial Commander in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, and a prominent showing could earn him a place in the Cheltenham Gold Cup field.

"I wish I had 20 horses like Tidal Bay – horses that had won an Arkle and had won a Cleeve Hurdle," said trainer Howard Johnson.