Dan Skelton plotting Cheltenham route for Third Time Lucki

THIRD Time Lucki is back on track for the Cheltenham Festival after recovering from an injury setback – and could run in the Grade Two Virgin Bet Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick on Saturday week.

The exciting two-miler won the Grade Two Lightning Novices’ Chase at Doncaster last weekend, the same race Shishkin won before going on to land the Sporting Life Arkle Chase a year ago

Victory was Third Time Lucki’s third win in four starts over fences and the Arkle has an open complexion after an injury setback ruled out the Willie Mullins-trained favourite Ferny Hollow.

Yet after the 30-length victory, accentuated by For Pleasure’s fall at the last, his Festival participation was thrown into doubt when trainer Dan Skelton thought the Mike Newbould-owned seven-year-old had suffered an overreach.

Those fears were fortunately unfounded.

“He is absolutely fine,” said Skelton. “It was a graze. I didn’t know what it was on the day, but thankfully it is just a graze.

“Actually, if the ground remains decent, I’m going to enter him at Warwick next weekend.”

The Arkle is still prominent in the thoughts of the ambitious trainer, and with barely any rain in the forecast over the next week, Skelton is keen to make the most of the drying ground.

He added: “We are having a look at everything.

“So we’ll give him an entry at Warwick if the ground sticks around, because he is so good on good ground.

“The weather is mad. We will have to make hay while the sun shines!”

Meanwhile, Lucinda Russell and Peter Scudamore’s Ahoy Senor will have just three rivals when he attempts to justify odds-on favouritism in the feature William Hill Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby tomorrow.

The Grade Two contest is viewed as a stepping stone to Cheltenham, with Ahoy Senor and jockey Derek Fox imperious in victory at Newbury in late November before chasing home the highly-regarded Bravesmangame in Kempton’s Grade One novice chase on Boxing Day.

Saint Palais, the mount of Yorkshire-born Harry Bannister, appears to be the biggest threat as the Richard Bandey-trained chaser seeks to extend his winning run over fences to four.

The Skelton-trained Ashtown Lad and Irish raider Noble Yeats complete the field.

Paul Townend feels the presence of British challenger Frodon in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup – the centrepiece of the Dublin Racing Festival – could be a help to Kemboy rather than a hindrance this weekend.

Both horses like to be ridden prominently and Townend is of the belief that a bit of company on the front end will prevent Kemboy from idling.

Winner of the race 12 months ago, Kemboy’s record at Leopardstown is exceptional, but Townend has never actually won on him there.

“His course form is very good and he ran a cracker there at Christmas as well,” said Townend as he assessed a race that Minella Indo won 12 months ago before winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

“He’s knocking on the door in this and while I haven’t been on his back for any of his wins there, I hope I can make up for that this time around.”

High-class stayer Nayef Road reappears at Kempton tomorrow, with a place in the £150,000 Betway All-Weather Marathon Championships up for grabs.

The Charlie and Mark Johnston-trained six-year-old was second to the John and Thady Gosden-trained Stradivarius in the 2020 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and signed off last year with a six-length defeat of Roberto Escobarr at Newmarket.

Nayef Road and Roberto Escobarr both shoulder 3lb penalties, with William Haggas’s runner also having been successful in the Grand Cup at York.