Taaffe to stick closer to home with Finger Onthe Pulse

NEWS ROUND-UP:TOM TAAFFE joked yesterday he is considering handing the job of entering Finger Onthe Pulse for his next race over to a higher authority after the horse was again denied a run due to Cheltenham's cancellation on Saturday, writes Brian O'Connor

Finger Onthe Pulse was due to start in the Boylesports Trophy at the weekend but the meeting was cancelled when Cheltenham became waterlogged. It followed another cancellation at Newcastle last month when frost cancelled the Rehearsal Chase, denying Taaffe's Jewson Handicap winner a run.

"I'm going to write to God the next time and ask Him to enter the horse!" an exasperated Taaffe said.

"There is a three-mile chase at Ascot this weekend that I had been thinking of running him in originally but I can't go back to the UK again after being messed around like this."

Instead Finger Onthe Pulse's immediate options are likely to centre on shorter races with the two-mile Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase on day two of the Leopardstown Festival described as a Grade One "possibility".

However, Taaffe could bypass a Christmas date for the horse completely.

"The Phil Sweeney Chase at Thurles on January 8th is a winners-of-two race and that could be ideal for him. That's where he will probably go next before going up to two and a half back at Thurles on January 29th and then we will think about March," he added.

Taaffe's Christmas team is instead set to be headed by a strong attack on the Lexus Chase where the trio of Glenfinn Captain, Slim Pickings and Cane Brake could all take their chance in the Grade One highlight.

Slim Pickings ruined his chance with a mistake early in the straight in the Hennessy and the horse's trainer said: "He was really travelling in the Hennessy so he will probably run now in the Lexus. Glenfinn Captain definitely runs in it and Cane Brake could too."

Jim Dreaper has described his Troytown winner, Notre Pere, as "90 per cent" likely to run in the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow in 11 days' time.

"It is more than likely he will go to Wales. He has a chance there whereas he would have none in the Lexus if the main ones show up at Leopardstown," the Co Dublin trainer said yesterday.

"He has 11st at Chepstow at the moment but I haven't analysed the race yet. We will just have to see who stays in."

Tom Mullins's focus will be resolutely on Leopardstown, however, with Chelsea Harbour due to run in either the Lexus or in the €190,000 Paddy Power Chase.

Chelsea Harbour has been raised in the weights for winning at Navan on his last start and Mullins said yesterday: "I suppose he had to get something and he got 5lb so it has thrown us a bit. He will run in one or the other. He is in really good form and I couldn't be happier with him."

Mullins has other Grade One options with the smart novice Made In Taipan who holds an entry in the Durkan New Homes Novice Chase and possibly Oscar Dan Dan in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle.

"He is going to work first and I'm optimistic he will work well. If he does he will run in the Grade One hurdle," he said.

"Made In Taipan is in great nick as well."

Cuan Na Grai and Psycho are two Irish hopefuls remaining among the 33 entries for Saturday's Ladbrokes Hurdle at Ascot, the richest race of its type run anywhere in Europe.

The David Pipe-trained Ashkazar tops the weights.