Florida Pearl out to rewrite the record books

It might not be the Gold Cup record everyone originally hoped for but tomorrow's Hennessy version can see Florida Pearl enter the history books with a third successive race victory.

The cream of Ireland's steeplechase brigade are ranged against the nine-year-old but Florida Pearl's position as this country's premier Cheltenham Gold Cup candidate looks set to be cemented.

Two past Hennessy successes have been used as warm ups for a pair of placed efforts at Cheltenham, but now Florida Pearl is on the verge of emulating Jodami's Leopardstown three-timer from 1993-95. And Mullins for one is not underestimating the significance of that.

"I think it would be a fantastic achievement to do what Jodami did," said Mullins yesterday, before confirming the special place Florida Pearl holds for him.

"If I ever have another horse as good as him again I will be happy. People might have thought he would do more than he has when he was younger but we still have this year's Gold Cup to go for again," said Mullins, who also runs Alexander Banquet tomorrow.

Florida Pearl remains a 10 to 1 shot for Cheltenham next month, but his superiority over his compatriots has been demonstrated by the solid ante-post Hennessy support which is hardly surprising considering he was the only horse to give the crack French chaser First Gold even a semblance of a race in the King George.

Mullins confirmed yesterday the trouble-free preparation his stable star has had for the treble attempt. "He had a few days off after Kempton but has been in tremendous form since and I'm very happy with him. I'm happy enough with the ground (forecast to be soft to heavy), which he has won on before and he has schooled well," he said.

The schooling could be a result of some slightly slow jumping in the early stages of the King George.

The 1998 winner, Dorans Pride, jumped like a creaky arthritic in the early stages of the Ericsson on New Year's Eve and still managed to have Nick Dundee and Native Upmanship behind him. The latter's stamina is still unproven on testing ground, while Edward O'Grady reportedly expects Nick Dundee to improve again for this race.

If there is a joker in the pack it could be the remarkable Triumph Hurdle and Irish National winner, Commanche Court, whose resilience and toughness makes Tony McCoy's booking possibly even more significant.

Commanche Court could be the one for the forecast, but the one for the record books should be Florida Pearl.

The feature is just one of a number of significant Cheltenham trials. A three-runner lineup for a £70,000 race says a lot, but hopefully one of the three will use the PJ Moriarty Chase to say a lot about their festival chances.

Sackville's Drinmore Chase defeat of Arctic Copper and Well Ridden means he gives weight away, but he won well at Naas last weekend and he just keeps on winning.

Noel Meade's string now appear to be coming back to form and the impressive Fairyhouse winner, Fruit Defendu, looks an exciting prospect in the Cashmans Juvenile Hurdle, while the progressive Colonel Braxton looks the one to be on in the Deloitte and Touche.

Davenport Milenium is the Mullins choice from seven entries in the bumper and should prove significant.