Paul Nolan planning strong Cheltenham Festival challenge

Paul Nolan has assembled his biggest ever team for next week’s Cheltenham Festival.

The County Wexford handler has saddled four previous winners at the showpiece meeting in the Cotswolds, breaking his duck with Dabiroun in the 2005 Fred Winter before adding to his tally with Noble Prince in the 2011 Turners Novices’ Chase, Mrs Milner in the 2021 Pertemps Final and Daily Present in last year’s Kim Muir.

This year’s squad is headed by Feet Of A Dancer, who was last seen claiming a Grade Two prize at Doncaster and holds entries in the BetMGM Cup, the Mares’ Hurdle and the Stayers’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park.

Nolan said: “Hopefully we can get them all there in one piece, they are all grand. Hopefully I’ll have 10 or 11 going over, the most we’ve ever had. Hopefully what will go over will be competitive, they seem to be in good nick.

“It’s a nervous time now, worrying that something will go wrong.

“Feet Of A Dancer, if Lossiemouth and Wodhooh run in the Mares’ Hurdle you are hoping to be third.

“The old Coral Cup (BetMGM Cup) is on the Old course, so it’s a sharp two and half miles. If the top-weight (Ndaawi) stayed in she’d have a lovely weight, but I just don’t think the inside track will suit her.

“She is obviously better over three miles but the Stayers’ Hurdle is very competitive and she’s against horses that she is probably a stone wrong with, even with her mares’ allowance.

“We have to declare on the same day for the Mares’ race and the Stayers’, so we’ll see what happens.”

Assessing some of his other planned runners at Cheltenham, the trainer added: “Release The Beast will go in the Grand Annual and we’ll have Sandor Clegane and Daily Present for the Kim Muir.

“Daily Present is going in on the back of a pull up. Softer ground wouldn’t suit him, the nicer ground in Cheltenham will suit , but he’ll have to improve an awful lot on his last couple of starts.

“Sandor Clegane is a horse that has been disappointing, but he seems to be coming into a bit better form.

“Iceberg Theory runs in the National Hunt Chase. He won well in Cork and the step up in trip should suit him, he seems to stay all day. He’s in good old form.

“The horse in the Boodles, Harwa, is rated 132. He could be nearly top-weight and he’s a very handy horse, so I can’t see him carrying that weight. I think he might be ground dependent as well – the ground might be a bit good for him in Cheltenham.

“Thedeviluno seems in right form and I’d say we’ll have to go in the Albert Bartlett. He won over two miles and was second to Doctor Steinberg over two and a half and then he won over three. He seemed far more comfortable over the three when he won at Doncaster, the way he jumped and travelled.”